EDITORIAL

We can help our region ride out the rough patch

IT hasn’t been a great start to 2020 for Australia’s tourism industry.

After launching a whiz-bang, $38 million global advertising campaign late last year, the industry has taken two big hits at the start of the new decade.

Through no fault of their own, tourist operators have hit a rough patch.

First came the bushfires that shut down parts of the beautiful southeast coast and dominated headlines and news bulletins all over the world.

Then the coronavirus came along, shutting down the lucrative Chinese tourism market.

Of course, others have suffered more directly and more seriously from the fires and the coronavirus. But the impact on our tourism industry should not be overlooked.

It has particular relevance here in the Geelong region and down to the tourism-reliant Surf and Shipwreck coasts on the Great Ocean Road.

As touched on in this column last week, residents in the Geelong region have already shown a remarkable capacity for generosity in the wake of the bushfires.

Aside from being blanketed at times by smoke from afar, they thankfully avoided the worst of the fire season. However, they have continued to dip into their pockets to support the victims and their towns.

Now attention is turning towards helping those communities with their patronage as tourists.

Day trips, long weekends and family holidays are all being encouraged.

Beautiful towns like Bright and Mallacoota are on the mend, and seeking tourists to book beds in their hotels, tables in their restaurants and seats in their cafes.

The same sort of support is needed — and will be required in coming months — on the Great Ocean Road.

In terms of visitation to the Twelve Apostles, the China shutdown came at the worst possible time. Chinese New Year (at the end of January) is traditionally that tourist attraction’s busiest weekend of the year, but this year numbers dwindled and millions of dollars were lost.

Fundraisers won’t — and should not — be held to compensate for those losses. But the simplest way to help is to jump in a car, pay this stunning region a visit and spend a few dollars. You’d be a doing a good deed for yourself and for your community.