Tourists begged to show support
Queensland is begging tourists not to cancel their Gold Coast holidays in the wake of the Dreamworld tragedy.
Cindy Low, originally from Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty, died alongside Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi, and his sister Kate Goodchild. All four died following a catastrophic malfunction on the Thunder River Rapids on Tuesday.
Speaking the following day Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk begged tourists not to turn their backs on the tourismdependent city. The city’s theme parks attract about 1.8 million visitors annually.
‘‘The Gold Coast is safe,’’ she told Channel 7 yesterday, adding that a thorough investigation must head off the risk of similar tragedies in the future. ‘‘Please continue to show your support to the Gold Coast and to Queensland,’’ she urged visitors, when she appeared on Channel Nine.
‘‘Please don’t alter your holiday plans. Please continue to show your support. We will get to the bottom of this.’’
According the the Gold Coast Tourism Association’s website, Kiwis are the second largest source of international visitors to the area, behind China. Around 189,000 visitors from New Zealand went to the Gold Coast for the year ending March 2016.
Travel Agent Association of New Zealand chief executive Andrew Olsen said he did not think the incident would have Kiwis cancelling trips to the Gold Coast. ‘‘I don’t think for a moment that people are going to start cashing their tickets in because of this awful and tragic situation.’’
Olsen said Queensland would be fine as a destination as there were plenty of other things to do.
Flight Centre general manager marketing Jodie Burnard said noone had cancelled their holiday because of the tragedy, but people have asked questions around their Dreamworld passes.
In the wake of the tragedy, Dreamworld has offered full refunds to anyone holding a ticket to the park.
Kiwi Cindy Low was at the Australian theme park with her 10-year-old son, 6-year-old daughter and partner on Tuesday.
However, the 42-year-old made the tragic decision to separate from her family and ride in another tyre with five strangers.
She died on the ride’s wooden conveyor belt when her group’s inflatable tyre crashed into another tyre, flipping and killing four of the six people inside.
Her son witnessed the tragedy from another tyre and was being comforted by his father yesterday.
‘‘A beautiful wife, mother and dear friend was killed today while enjoy [ing] what should have been a relaxing family holiday,’’ one friend said in an online tribute.
A Christchurch man let a group go in front and take the raft that led to the deaths of four people at Dreamworld.
Newshub reported the 25-yearold man allowed a group to pass in front and take their raft. The raft then struck an empty vessel before it flipped.
The man was with his partner, and the pair were waiting for his partner’s mother to catch up.
‘‘We saw things we wish we hadn’t,’’ he told Newshub.
Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said two girls, aged 10 and 13, were thrown into the water but survived.