Showing visitors our best side

As welcomed tourists return, help us rebuild in a COVID- safe way — while turning on the Tassie charm,

AS borders begin to reopen, I would like to offer the Tasmanian community our thanks. Thank you to the Tasmanians who have explored the southern region and supported local tourism and hospitality venues while borders have been closed.

Every time you have taken a drive to the Huon or Derwent Valley, Midlands or Tasman Peninsula and bought lunch, a bottle of wine, stayed the night, experienced a cruise or even filled your tank with petrol, you are supporting tourism and hospitality businesses and in turn, the families they support.

For months, the Tasmanian industry has been operating under reduced hours because of the absence of interstate and international visitors. They remain resilient and have adjusted their business models.

Many of these models you have embraced and encouraged with your spend, whether it be a tour with adjusted procedures, a virtual whisky tasting or quality food delivered to your home.

Now that border closures are beginning to lift, we will begin to see visitors from South Australia, ACT, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory ( and NSW from this Friday, with Victoria opening up when it is safe to do so), which will hopefully be reflected in increased business activity from hereon.

Victoria is crucial to the recovery of this industry, as the vast majority of visitors to Tasmania hail from our nearest neighbour, and many others come via Melbourne.

Importantly, the only people allowed to visit Tasmania are from similarly COVID- safe states. Therefore, they do not pose a risk.

In fact, as we know, people have been coming in and out of our state for many months now, as essential workers and other categories of exemption, and we have had no outbreaks of COVID- 19 as a result.

We also know that we are going to have to live with COVID- 19 for as long it takes for a vaccine to become readily available, and as a state we must all now integrate safety procedures into our everyday lives.

Businesses must maintain hygiene and contact tracing procedures, and we as individuals must support these measures by adhering to physical distancing and handwashing regulations.

We have already seen in other states and countries the effects of one slip- up that leads to an outbreak.

If we don’t all do our part, as both business operators and consumers, we will see a reversion to much stricter rules, and possibly further lockdowns.

Whether that happens here in Tasmania, or another state, the consequence of that will impact us all with devastating effect.

To protect our business operators and each other, we ALL need to observe the Five Rules for COVID- Safe Travel.

These are:

COVID SAFE PLANS:

All tourism and hospitality establishments will implement these to keep Tasmanians and interstate visitors safe.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING:

This must be strictly adhered to. Perhaps in Tasmania we have become slightly lax in recent months because of our COVID- free status, but we must “switch on” again and stay 1.5m apart.

CONTACT TRACING: This is a critical step for all of us – Tasmanians and visitors alike. Please fill in the forms whether on paper or electronic device. This will enable authorities to track any future outbreaks and contain them.

COVID- SAFE CLEANING:

All tourism and hospitality venues will have strict guidelines about cleaning surfaces, linen and rooms.

TASMANIAN WAY OF SERVICE:

We need to remember that for so many thousands of Tasmanians, tourism and hospitality is their livelihood — it puts food on their tables and shoes on their feet. As visitors return, we must uphold our reputation as a warm and friendly bunch, and welcome them with all of our Tasmanian charm and professionalism, and make every visitor feel relaxed and safe.

By adhering to these five rules, we will be safe, but I cannot stress enough that it’s the responsibility of each one of us as individuals, not just the venues and attractions we may visit.

Remember, as summer approaches, wherever you spend your money — in Hobart or the Huon, on the East Coast or in the North-West — you are keeping businesses open and people employed.

For the foreseeable future, interstate visitors and Tasmanians will be the lifeblood of our tourism industry.

So thank you again, to all the people of Tasmania who are touring their state on the weekends or holidays.

Thank you for booking a table at your local restaurant or pub, or for travelling further afield to enjoy a night out and away.

Together, we will get through this. Together we can welcome back our interstate visitors as they start to arrive and reignite our economy.