Sunday, 24 May 2020

Extra JobKeeper support could save the Tourism industry

The tourism and hospitality industries have welcomed Government discussions of further JobKeeper support for industries catastrophically affected by the bushfires, Covid19 and now growing uncertainty about when state borders will return to normal, Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond said today.

“Our industry more than any other has borne the sustained pain of these terrible times and unlike most we cannot simply bounce back with the ongoing uncertainty around the lifting of border restrictions both State and International. We very much support those states like NSW that have taken a considered approach understanding the health issues and begun relaxing the stranglehold on tourism and its related industries.

“However if businesses large and small in our sector are to survive we will need ongoing support to retain critical staff and be ready to open our doors when the time is right. The industry will be terrifically damaged if we cannot retain the businesses, particularly in regional areas, that provide the content and experiences that travellers expect.

“From a business traveller perspective with limited aviation opportunity, border uncertainty and no clear view of when major business events may be viable again the need in the conferencing and events sector is also acute.

“TTF research shows that the industry is bleeding over $9.6B a month and will see the loss of over 400,000 jobs. To survive this perfect storm the industry must have critical support and the surplus in the JobKeeper funding fits that bill.

“We have begun discussions with the Federal Government on what might be possible and look forward to further discussions in coming days,” Ms Osmond said.

ENDS

Media Contact: Graeme Moses at gmoses@ttf.org.au or 0434 569 470