Tourists urged to keep bookings as North Qld businesses and tours reopen

Tourists are being urged to avoid cancelling their existing bookings with tourism bodies fearing the industry would lose $125 million during the Christmas holidays following Cyclone Jasper.

Businesses and tour operators are reopening their doors to visitors after days of torrential rain that flooded homes, leaving more than 15,000 without power, forcing road closures and flight cancellations at Cairns Airport.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive officer Mark Olsen said it was vital that the region did not lose existing bookings.

“Tropical north Queensland operators have already lost $60 million in bookings and are likely to lose $125 million over December and January, which represents 15 to 20 per cent of total expenditure over those months,” he said.

“We are very concerned about the lack of bookings that would normally be coming in now for January and the level of cancellations that we are seeing for January.

“Our community is pulling together with emergency service providers to help the people who have been impacted by flooding, but many of these people are small business owners or employees in the tourism industry who depend on visitors for their income.”

Tourists are being urged to keep their bookings following Cyclone Jasper.Credit: Glenn Hunt

Highways, including Captain Cook Highway, have reopened, Mission Beach was unaffected and there are two boat services per day between Cairns and Port Douglas that replaced the coastal road being repaired but reopened by the weekend.

The Reef Fleet showcasing the Great Barrier Reef and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway have opened as well as Cairns Aquarium and Kuranda day tours.

Olsen said operators relied on the summer school holidays to get through the quieter months from February.

“Contact your accommodation provider to check they are open for business and please continue with your plans for a summer holiday in the tropics,” he said.

Mark and Judy Evans reached their 30th anniversary of owning Paronella Park during the floods.Credit: Facebook

Paronella Park owners Mark and Judy Evans who celebrated their 30th anniversary of owning the business in the floods will reopen their business on Friday.

The rough waters and rain have been replaced by sunshine and the park’s waterfall is back to its normal level. They’ve told people not to worry about the fish and turtles – they’re fine.

Minor structural damage is being fixed and crews have been furiously cleaning some pathways that were covered in silt or washed away.

“We’ve been through two cyclones before that’s caused huge amount of damage whereas this time was a matter of finding people to help clean up,” she said.

“It isn’t as stressful as previous floods but we are blessed compared to other parts of Cairns right now.

“The weather is fantastic, the roads are cleared and all businesses around us are also open for bookings.”

Evans said they had many cancellations in the past couple of days but urged people to postpone rather than avoid the experience.

“We’re still getting people turn up in the car park asking if we’re open yet today so that’s comforting. We do encourage everyone to keep coming up.”

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