The manager of a Far North Queensland caravan park says they have lost about $35,000 in bookings due to concerns over fuel prices and availability, as the industry calls for state and federal government support for operators.
Besko Halilovic, who started as manager at Crystal Cascades Caravan Park almost two months ago, said more people were ringing up to cancel than to book a spot.
“It seems like this season is ruined,” he said. “That’s how it feels.”
He said the number of people citing fuel as the reason for cancelling had led staff to create a special category to track the impact it was having.
Besko Halilovic says when cancelling their bookings, people tell him they can not afford the fuel for their driving holiday. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) is calling for a support package worth about $50 million from the state and federal governments to help businesses with cash flow and retaining their workforce over the next 90 days.
“We are looking at an industry that is trying to keep their staff retained for when people are travelling in volume again,” QTIC chief executive Natassia Wheeler said.
“If you lose that workforce, how do they remain open seven days a week and accept people and deliver on the expectations?”
Natassia Wheeler says the industry is trying to keep staff retained for when business picks up again. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
According to QTIC, the industry supplies more than 277,000 jobs and $43 billion of visitor cashflow across Queensland, with regional destinations most effected by transport dependencies.
Concerns during ‘core months’
Caravan Parks Association of Queensland chief executive Michelle Weston said operators relied on tourists visiting in the winter months to keep them running right through summer.
Michelle Weston says operators in north Queensland lose money during the summer. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
“Outside south-east Queensland, most caravan parks in Queensland actually run cashflow negative through summer, which means they earn all of their income through those winter months,” she said.
Chrizelle Zwick, who manages Lake Placid Rainforest Retreat in Far North Queensland, said the “fuel dilemma couldn’t have happened at a worse time”.
Chrizelle Zwick wants the government to reassure the public about fuel supply. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
“June, July and August — those three months are what prop us up for what carry us through the rest of the year,” she said.
“[They are] our core months that keep us alive, so if we’re sort of having problems in those months it’s really significant damage to the business.”
Information ‘the ace up the sleeve’
Sydneysiders Kerrie Murphy and Carin Vernier are on a dream retirement lap of Australia but have had to rethink their itinerary due to concerns around fuel availability.
Kerrie Murphy and Carin Vernier are rethinking their dream retirement holiday due to concerns around fuel availability. (ABC News: Russel Talbot)
“At this stage, we’re probably only going to get as far as north Queensland,” Ms Murphy said.
They are cautious of travelling to remote locations as they are concerned about the availability of fuel.
“We definitely decided that we would just stick to the coast where hopefully fuel availability was good,” Ms Vernier said.
To give both tourism and operators certainty, Queensland Bus Industry Council executive director Jason O’Dwyer would like the federal government to create a publicly accessible fuel dashboard.
Jason O’Dwyer says public information on fuel availability would give everyone confidence. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
This comes after Premier David Crisafulli called on the federal government last month for a national fuel dashboard.
Mr O’Dwyer said having information on supply publicly available would give confidence to both operators and tourists.
“In a crisis, cash is king, however the ace up the sleeve is information,” Mr O’Dwyer said.
“It’s really important that organisations have an idea that they can do tours and then go out and come back and bring passengers home.”
Caravan park operator Murray McLay said bookings had softened across his two venues in Yeppoon and Keppel Sands.
“At this stage, it’s a wait-and-see; we’re certainly down on income with the cancellations,” he said.
Murray McLay would like to see more certainty around fuel supply. (ABC News: Russel Talbot)
Mr McLay said he was confident that the industry could weather the storm, but that a national fuel dashboard could help ease travellers’ anxieties.
“They’re not worried about if it’s $2.40 or $2.70. It’s, ‘if I go to the servo, I want to be able to fuel up’.”
Fuel crisis hits tourism bookings, cost increases and anxiety over shortages
A spokesperson for federal Tourism Minister Don Farrell said tourism businesses were the “heartbeat of many towns and communities”.
“The government is coordinating closely with state and territory governments and taking every practical step to shield Australians from the worst impacts of the conflict in the Middle East,” they said.
Loading…