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THE big question
Crisis, survival and recovery in the tourism,
hospitality and events industries.
By Joanne Pyke, Terry DeLacy and Felicia Mariani
A
ustralia’s tourism, hospitality and events (THE) industries
have been hit hard by the recent bushfires, followed by the
COVID-19 emergency.
In recent years, THE has been a major driver of jobs and
economic growth, but the Tourism and Transport Forum estimates
that industry is now losing around $9 billion a month nationwide
due to restrictions on travel and social distancing measures.
The big question being asked right now is, how is industry
responding and will it recover?
Based on industry focus groups convened by the Victoria
Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), the industry is feeling the pain.
At the same time, we are seeing incredible examples of innovation
and planning to rebound after restrictions on movement are eased
and eventually lifted.
The tourism industry is responding to the shut-down in three
phases: hibernation, the road to recovery, and recovery.
Until Easter, key attractions, accommodation, transport,
restaurants, sports venues, event companies and theatres generally
took protective cover from the forced closures and loss of
income through a hard and distressing process of standing down
employees and assessing how government support could help
carry them through the shut-down.
The JobKeeper strategy was greeted as a business saviour,
although many organisations are now left with a skeleton staff
working reduced hours. As one accommodation provider
commented, “As of next week, our whole team will go on .4FTE,
and we are hoping that JobKeeper will cover that.”
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Having dealt with the initial blows, the industry is preparing to
‘pivot, plan and position’ along the road to recovery. Remarkable
examples are emerging of businesses pivoting – or transforming
their traditional business model to address current conditions.
13cabs for example, has rapidly turned its taxi business from an
exclusive focus on human passengers to a service that will deliver
anything ‘that’s legal and fits in a cab’. Similar examples can be
found in aviation, events planning and visitor attractions.
The industry is also busy planning. As well as getting a lot of
‘housework’ done – building maintenance, IT systems upgrades
and so on – much effort is going into sourcing data, anticipating
future trends and assessing how a ‘new normal’ will look once
travel restrictions are lifted.
While these predictions vary, no one expects tourism behaviour
to return to pre-COVID-19 rates for years, if ever, and different
sectors will recover before others.
For example, domestic tourism is anticipated to grow more
quickly, with a greater demand for open space and nature-based
tourism opportunities, and sectors such as caravan and camping
and drive holidays are likely to bounce back more quickly.
Steven Wright, chief executive of BIG4 Holiday Parks, says,
“The adage of ‘holiday at home’ has never been truer. We will see
people exploring regional tourism products and accommodation
in their own states first. This gives an opportunity for regional
operators to showcase their products to a potential new audience.
We are using partners such as the Wiggles to showcase our
offering in a fun and relevant manner for young families.”
When international visitors return, industry planners anticipate
and are targeting a more diverse spread of markets, with a
reduction in group travel from China.
Likewise, the industry is positioning. Despite the COVID-19
shut‑down, the priority is to send the right messages at the right
time to future visitors of regions, events and attractions.