Bring East Coast back

Tasmania’s beloved East Coast relies on tourism — and tireless businesses need some assistance, says Kym Goodes

THE remarkable positive about the way Tasmanians have dealt with the coronavirus crisis is the way we have pulled together and looked after each other. We have tapped into a reservoir of compassion, kindness and concern for others to help fight the spread of COVID- 19. In other words, the capacity has always been there, and it has been unleashed when needed most.

And just as we have made sacrifice — at the cost of great despair for many businesses — we now need to tap that same reservoir to tackle the momentous economic and personal challenges before us.

That means working in partnership, like never before, for the greater good. That means cultivating new ideas, new ways of working, building new skills, finding new markets, creating new events. Even, for some, tossing out all they know and starting again and reimagining the way we can draw down on expertise for better outcomes. Such is the spirit of the entrepreneur, and we already have that spirit alive and well on the East Coast of Tasmania even in these toughest of times.

The federal budget announcements of $ 13.5m. regional tourism recovery funds to Tasmania in conjunction with significant investment in tourism infrastructure through the Building Better Regions funding and the focus of last week’s state budget has therefore been very welcomed on the East Coast. For the first time in months it has buoyed the optimism of our tourism operators. The job losses here have been hard and operators are working tirelessly every day, at best to just break even, at worst, to keep the inevitability of closing forever another month away. Combine this with the closure of Visitor Information Centres in the Glamorgan Spring Bay tourism towns and the locals have taken a double hit. However, operators are displaying that quiet determination that is so Tasmanian. Knowing these funds will provide much needed support and contribute to our region bouncing back is the first good news they have heard for quite some time.

One of the East Coast’s greatest challenges of course is how we rebuild our tourism industry and ensure the flow- on effect of its growth over the past decade again supports not just tourism businesses but everybody from the local supermarkets, the local petrol station, the local transport operators, tradesmen and the like. Increasing visitors at a local level means more than just renewed optimism for our tourism operators, it flows into all of these businesses who equally rely on this income. There are very few alternative industries that underpin our local economy and employ the local people.

Tasmanians love the East Coast. What many Tasmanians may not know is that we are the sixth most tourism- dependent region in Australia. Before the pandemic hit it provided 1826 direct and 699 indirect jobs and contributed $ 146.4m to the East Coast economy.

The job losses have been devastating. The uncertainty debilitating. The budget announcements have therefore been a breakthrough moment and very welcomed news. These small communities have the ability to quickly mobilise and this has stimulated local discussions and a sense that local voices can be heard.

We know, as a coast of small communities, just how interconnected we are. And that is a good thing, that is our strength. What we don’t have is a city or large population within our region that can draw in other employment options. We don’t have an airport or seaport to automatically channel visitors through the doors of our local businesses and our region. So we must ensure there are strategies to tackle the loss of tourism in the short and long term. Strategies that are directly targeted for our small, tourism dependent communities.

The other cause for optimism is right in our own backyard. The white beaches still glisten, the ocean is still the deep blue and the waters crystal- clear, the striking red granite shores from Freycinet to the Bay of Fires still beckon, the mountains draw us to them on foot or bike, those special off- the- beaten- track corners of our coast are still magical.

Our wonderful natural assets are undiminished. And the first wave of visitors as we recover have been our fellow Tasmanians who love this coast as much as those fortunate enough to live here, now followed by our mainland visitors. We need help to ensure we can guide these visitors to experience all the coast has to offer. Help to ensure our operators can trade, be viable and overcome the mountain of challenges they have faced in the last 12 months. Help to ensure our visitors can explore all the east coast has to offer, guided through visitor information services.

A unified approach from local, state and federal governments and the community will ensure the critical jobs can return and local regional Tasmanian communities like the East Coast can continue to be economically viable and offer the good life the local, hardworking populations deserve. www. business. tas. gov. au/ covid19_ business_ support_ packages

THE JOB LOSSES HERE HAVE BEEN HARD AND OPERATORS ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY EVERY DAY, AT BEST TO JUST BREAK EVEN, AT WORST, TO KEEP CLOSING FOREVER ANOTHER MONTH AWAY