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Developed in Europe, this innovative system offers a safety management solution for swimming pools that checks individual swimmers via their wristband - monitoring their depth and time. Sensors…
read moreAustralian Regional Tourism (ART) is calling for increased support of tourism businesses in navigating the post Coronavirus environment, calling for governments to get regional tourism specialists out into regions and assist businesses as they plan to and begin operating again.
Noting that tourism businesses have felt the full effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, ART highlights that these operators make up a significant proportion of the regional visitor economy and are significant employers in communities.
ART also points to recent payroll data from the Australian Tax Office, as analysed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which indicates the number of employees on the payroll fell 7.3% across the country from mid-March to early May.
ART suggests that further analysis of this data reveals that this figure is actually much higher in regional areas that are heavily reliant on tourism.
While the severity of these figures has been positively impacted by the JobKeeper subsidy, concerns are rising among business owners of how they will be able to manage once the subsidy ends in September. Cash flow in many of these businesses is slow or non-existent and while these operators are optimistic for an influx of visitors, they are also very anxious.
Although safety is their priority, as operators consider reopening their doors to visitors once again, ART Deputy Chair, Donna Foster explains that viability weighs heavily on their minds, stating “for many businesses JobKeeper is holding everything together, but everyone is aware that this has an expiry date and many are unsure how they will manage when the subsidy ends.
“We are hearing over and over that operators desperately need support so they can safely reopen their businesses, they are unsure how social distancing will affect them and what special cleaning requirements will need to be implemented.”
As travel restrictions continue to ease, pressure is still mounting for the opening of all state borders. However, Foster fears that for many regions having their businesses open to ‘local’ visitors alone is simply not viable.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive, Mark Olsen has advised that the North Queensland economy is currently losing $91 million each week and feels that domestic travel needs to be encouraged during the school holidays in June and July.
Olsen noted “the tourism economy in North Queensland is worth $6.4 billion annually, supports 37,400 direct jobs and accounts for 25% of the state’s tourism economic impact despite having only 15% of the population.
“In the Cairns region we are losing $10 million every day that domestic travel is not allowed.”
ART is calling for the opening of all state and territory borders to fully enable domestic travel, noting that this action is essential for providing desperately needed economic flows and the return of jobs in destinations across regional Australia.
Image: Port Douglas. Tourism Tropical North Queensland has advised that the local visitor economy is losing $91 million each week.
1st June 2020 - Queensland Tourism Industry Council welcomes further easing of COVID-19 restrictions
31st May 2020 - Queensland opens up intrastate travel but borders to stay closed
28th May 2020 - TTA keen for focus on Vocational Training Skills to be extended to tourism and hospitality industry
26th May 2020 - Call for JobKeeper underspend to be allocated to revive Australian tourism
26th May 2020 - Australian tourism industry requires ‘complete overhaul’ to succeed
19th May 2020 - Queensland Government provides emergency funding for theme parks and wildlife attractions
15th May 2020 - Broken Hill tourism industry determined to recover
13th May 2020 - Great Barrier Reef tourism operators to receive additional financial assistance
13th May 2020 - Survival package unveiled for Victorian sport, tourism and creative industries
13th May 2020 - ATEC highlights the harsh reality of a tourism industry in crisis
11th May 2020 - Tourism Council WA welcomes tourism recovery guidelines
7th May 2020 - World Expeditions backs concept of Trans-Tasman tourism bubble
9th April 2020 - ATIC welcomes JobKeeper payment scheme
31st March 2020 - Australian Government launches $130 billion ‘JobKeeper’ wage subsidy
31st March 2020 - ATIC supports $130 billion JobKeeper package
22nd March 2020 - NSW and Victoria to close ‘non-essential services’ while South and Western Australia seal borders in response to Coronavirus pandemic
17th February 2020 - Research shows art experiences can revitalise regional tourism
11th February 2020 - 2020 Australian Regional Tourism Convention to be staged in Ballarat
18th October 2019 - Australian Regional Tourism Convention to address role in national tourism agenda
21st March 2019 - Review to determine ways to expand tourism In Regional Victoria
20th November 2018 - Australian Regional Tourism announces new Chair
6th March 2017 - NSW Government encourages regional tourism growth
29th August 2016 - Australian Regional Tourism Network calls for Government to ‘get serious’ about tourism
26th August 2016 - Tasmanian Government backs rail trail projects to boost regional tourism
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