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The impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper in Far North Queensland before Christmas and storm and flooding events in south-east Queensland in the past week have delivered a severe setback to the state’s tourism industry during what should be its busiest periods.

Before Christmas, Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Mark Olsen advised that Cyclone Jasper and the flooding it caused had created difficulties for tourism in the region, stating “we’ve already seen about $125 million worth of forward bookings and bookings that would normally come through at this time of the year for January wiped off the book.

“It is a difficult time for the region when tourism plays such an important role in our community.”

On the Gold Coast, beaches, aquatic facilities and theme parks are among attractions closed since Christmas Day storms while media reports indicate significant accommodation cancellations.

As reported by the Australian Associated Press, Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce’s Vice-President, Zac Revere, estimated the extreme weather would cost the region “millions” in cancelations alone.

Rowe stated “for example, in our business we deal with Airbnb. So we’re looking at cancellations left, right and centre from people who, from across the country, are just seeing this storm smash us constantly, who would rather spend their time and their money elsewhere.”

Yesterday saw, the Queensland and Federal Governments announced they had made up to $250,000 in financial support available to businesses and primary producers to replace damaged assets such as plant and equipment or to maintain liquidity.

Disaster assistance loans are also available for affected businesses in the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan City local government areas.

Queensland Small Business Minister, Lance McCallum also advised of the release of a natural disaster business survey to better understand the damage, explaining “recovery can be a long, hard road but I want our local small businesses to know that the Miles government has their back,” he said.

The tourism industry had expected this summer to provide a relatively strong start to the year.

Business Chamber Queensland spokesperson Emma Clarke said their surveys showed that the tourist sector in Cairns and the Gold Coast had among the highest confidence in the state ahead of the December quarter.

Clarke noted “anecdotally, we know from businesses, especially in the Far North, it’s a really significant financial and emotional impact to them, their operations and their workforces.”

Encouraging tourists to head to the disaster-affected areas for a holiday to help spur on the recovery, Clarke added “that’s really important because while the power might be back on and the immediate cleanup and recovery work has finished, the financial recovery is much more significant and takes a lot longer.”

Image credit: Shutterstock.

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