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The Australian Tourism Export Council highlights that months of lockdowns, border closures, cancellations and uncertainty has left tourism businesses, including a significant number in critical tourism regions, on the edge of collapse and desperately in need of a lifeline.

Across Australia, regardless of local restrictions, tourism businesses have been battling to stay afloat as circumstances change day by day and visitor markets get locked out of travel.

ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley notes “this is a dire situation and the future of Australia’s tourism industry is truly at risk.

“Each time we've moved out of lockdowns, tourism businesses have reopened their doors and got back to doing what they love, but the stop-start situation has become extreme and many businesses have depleted their funds making it impossible to kick off anymore reopenings without financial support.

“These businesses are critical economic drivers for their regions and provide an enormous amount of employment and flow on economic benefit for the communities where they are based.

“Without these businesses, many hundreds of communities across rural and regional Australia will be facing a long term downturn in their economic security as people move out of the area to find work.”

Shelley said tourism businesses urgently need support from all levels of government in order to keep skilled labour in these regions and ensure they are able to not only reopen, but to be sustainable and grow as we move out of the COVID crisis.

Shelley adds “the impact and urgent need for support in tourism regions has been highlighted by agencies such as Tourism Tropical North Queensland who can see the road ahead and the business which will fall off the cliff without a government lifeline and we support their call for wage support.

“This is a short-term measure which will provide long term security for our tourism regions and we call on all governments to take action to protect the future of our industry and the communities they support.”

For more information on ATEC go to atec.net.au/

Image: ATEC Major Member - Featherdale Wildlife Park in NSW 

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