JUST GIVE US A BREAK
Plea to help tourism industry survive cancelled China flights
A TRAVEL ban has left Chinese visitors stranded in the Far North, while tourism businesses plead for government support to get them through the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The escalation in measures against the health threat means Hainan Airlines has cancelled its service to Cairns, leaving no way home for Chinese tourists spending the lunar new year in the region. Tourism Minister Kate Jones has promised a campaign urging people to holiday locally.
THE state government has responded to calls for assistance for the Far North tourism industry as hundreds of Chinese tourists remain stranded and local businesses expect months of hardship from a ban on flights from mainland China.
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said while the immediate focus was on containing the deadly coronavirus, discussions would be held throughout the week regarding the impact on the tourism and international education sectors.
“The first thing we’ve activated is to really beef up our local campaigning to get people to holiday locally,” she said.
“What we want is more Australians and more Queenslanders holidaying at home and spending money in the local economy.
“We know that both the Gold Coast and Cairns will be hardest hit when it comes to Chinese travellers. The Prime Minister and the Premier are focused on containing the virus. This is critical to minimising the impact.”
The pledge came as Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen joined Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland general manager of advocacy and policy Amanda Rohan in calling for government help.
Mr Olsen said already, TNQ operators were providing heavily discounted and even free activities and experiences to Chinese tourists stranded in Cairns after Hainan Airlines cancelled flights in and out of Shenzhen.
Some passengers have elected to go on to other international ports. Cairns Airport encouraged anyone with plans to travel to China over the coming weeks to check with their airline.
“We are working with operators to look after those people who are staying on. The key thing is, managing the spread of coronavirus has to be our top priority,” Mr Olsen said.
“We appreciate these people didn’t plan to be here for quite as long as they are having to and the industry, as always, has been very generous in their support.
“The other priority is we are working with Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia to make sure international and domestic customers know we are open and are a safe and enjoyable place to visit.
“I think there is definitely a need for government and industry to get around the table and discuss support over the next few weeks and understand the impact on the region.
“Any marketing support or operational assistance, as in any crisis, has to be fit for the purpose. The tourism minister will be here on the 12th to sit with our industry and understand just what we need.
“We receive nearly one in 10 of the international visitors to Australia and nearly half of all of Queensland visitors come to Tropical North Queensland. We don’t have a short term domestic market to rely on like other cities in Australia, so support is important.”
Treasure Court Chinese Restaurant manager Andrew Chan said the Florence St business would open “day by day, week by week”, but expected to be hit hard by the coronavirus disruptions.
“We don’t know how long it will last. It could be three to six months at least,” he said.
“This is a critical time for our business. We are cutting staff at the moment. We will keep going … until we get the instruction to close.”