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Katie Woolf spoke with Tourism Top End General Manager Glen Hingley · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolvan three point sixty online at mixed one
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  Speaker 1: O four nine dot com. Joining us live on the
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  Speaker 1: line is Tourism Top End General Manager Glenn Hengley. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Glenn.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, Good morning Katie, Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: Listener, Glenn. How are you going this morning?
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  Speaker 2: We're in a better place after and we're grateful that
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  Speaker 2: there's been a step in the right direction from our
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  Speaker 2: hardworking Chow and his team at MT Health to reconsider
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  Speaker 2: the enormous programs that have been put forward. The management
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  Speaker 2: planes have been ploded by the small expedition ship companies,
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  Speaker 2: Australian owned companies that to enable Australians to come and
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  Speaker 2: board or embark or disembark here in Darwen.
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  Speaker 1: This is.
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  Speaker 2: And I've been on the phone since the announcement two
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  Speaker 2: o'clock yesterday afternoon and again this morning with the managing
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  Speaker 2: directors and the CEOs of these companies to find out
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  Speaker 2: if it's not too late they can reconsider their plans,
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  Speaker 2: because I can tell you that probably one of the
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  Speaker 2: bigger companies, he said, another week and a half and
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  Speaker 2: we would have been fully set up and burned our operations.
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  Speaker 2: So they're madly scrambling to unravel that what they've done
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  Speaker 2: to be able to bring a big part of their
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  Speaker 2: operations back to Darwin.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, so we could get in just in time here.
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  Speaker 2: Glenn, So that four o'clock yesterday afternoon. They're doing all
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  Speaker 2: they can to bring that back. And here's why their
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  Speaker 2: passengers want to be able to spend time in the
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  Speaker 2: Top End. They're getting off the game. They're flying in.
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  Speaker 2: They've made all these bookings. You know, over seven thousand
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  Speaker 2: customers that were able to identify all Australians had booked
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  Speaker 2: to either fly in or train in here into the
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  Speaker 2: Top End and spend between one night and eight nights
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  Speaker 2: around the Top End before getting on their expedition ship
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  Speaker 2: for their Kimberly crews across the room, all viose versa
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  Speaker 2: come in from Kimberly and to do that, and the
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  Speaker 2: value of having these small expedition ships here isn't just
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  Speaker 2: about tourists for restaurants and hotels and tours and attractions.
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  Speaker 2: It's as we've talked before, it's the marine mechanics, it's
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  Speaker 2: the fuel, it's the fruit and edge all our local
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  Speaker 2: producers that are keeping these small vessels operating when they
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  Speaker 2: homepoort here and of course the crew they get on
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  Speaker 2: and off here spend an enormous amount of money as well,
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  Speaker 2: so it's important to our broader economy, not just our
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  Speaker 2: tourism and hospitality sector.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Glenn, I really hope that we do have a
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  Speaker 1: situation where, you know, where we do have these small well,
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  Speaker 1: these small ships now being able to We know that
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  Speaker 1: they've changed the rules so that hopefully we are able
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  Speaker 1: to see more of them here. But it would be
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  Speaker 1: absolutely wonderful if we have these expeditions now rather than
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  Speaker 1: choosing broom. Coming back to the top end.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the rule that was put in place before, which
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  Speaker 2: was different to the rest of Australia, so all Australian
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  Speaker 2: waters had that any smallship could carry up to one
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  Speaker 2: hundred passengers plus crew. For reasons that we're confusing and
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  Speaker 2: still unknown, we had decided here in the territory to
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  Speaker 2: say it's one hundred persons on board crew and passengers,
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  Speaker 2: and that just didn't make it commercially viable for these
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  Speaker 2: businesses to operate that, which is the mainstay of our
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  Speaker 2: business and one of the most coveted aspects of tourism
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  Speaker 2: in Australia for them to do that. So to do
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  Speaker 2: that that makes commercially viable. And some of these vessels
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  Speaker 2: they can carry up to one hundred and fifty passengers,
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  Speaker 2: and they said, that's fine, we will run the ninety
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  Speaker 2: nine passengers. We want to make sure that we're doing
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  Speaker 2: the right thing not only by government and health authorities,
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  Speaker 2: but the communities in which we operate. We want to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we will leave these small expedition ships,
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  Speaker 2: keep keep Australians traveling, keep our economy moving, but also
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  Speaker 2: make sure every community and everybody is safe in this
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  Speaker 2: which is so important. The other little challenge is still
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  Speaker 2: trying to get their head around is that there is
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  Speaker 2: still an existing requirement that only two ships in territory
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  Speaker 2: water small ships in territory waters at any time. We're
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  Speaker 2: still trying to work that out ourselves, because from a
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  Speaker 2: Western Australian perspective, six or seven ships on the north
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  Speaker 2: over the Kimberleys was fine. And so how and how
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  Speaker 2: do we govern that because we know that the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory government doesn't have a naval fleet out they're governing
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  Speaker 2: our territory waters. But so you know, ultimately, I think
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  Speaker 2: there was concerns around our capacities and I think what
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  Speaker 2: we're grateful for is that NTEE Health took the time
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  Speaker 2: to sit down with these expedition companies, go through these
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  Speaker 2: management plans, look at how they have spent hundreds of
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  Speaker 2: thousands of dollars each in training and redeveloping, and also
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  Speaker 2: enormous amount of money in re equipping their vessels, making
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  Speaker 2: sure that they've got the best air filters and all
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  Speaker 2: of those things that are really important that we saw
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  Speaker 2: Quantas do some time ago. And unlike for like, when
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  Speaker 2: we're talking about expedition ships, we're talking about vessels that
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  Speaker 2: carry less people than are seven three seven flying from
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  Speaker 2: Melbourne to Darwin and have six to seven times the
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  Speaker 2: more space and of course all this open deck scenario
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  Speaker 2: and spend a lot more time off the vessels than
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  Speaker 2: they do on the vessels. Well, we'll keep working on.
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  Speaker 1: That absolutely, and Glen, I know. The other issue that
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  Speaker 1: we've just spoken to the CEO of Hospitality here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory about Alex Bruce, is that of the
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  Speaker 1: worker shortage that we are experiencing. We also spoke to
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  Speaker 1: Daniel Rochford about this yesterday in Central Australia. Is this
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  Speaker 1: something that we're feeling quite broadly. Here in the top end.
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  Speaker 2: We absolutely are. You know, it's not right here I
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  Speaker 2: am talking to about expedition ships and the value of
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  Speaker 2: being allowing more Australians to come and travel here. But
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  Speaker 2: part of that is premised because it's not just about
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  Speaker 2: the restaurants and the hotels, it's the border economy benefit.
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  Speaker 2: Every time a tourist lands in the territory. It is
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  Speaker 2: a real challenge for us. Katie job Keeper. One of
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  Speaker 2: the great things about job Keeper from the get go
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  Speaker 2: last year it was introduced was not the money to
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  Speaker 2: the businesses, but the ability for businesses to retain that
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  Speaker 2: skilled and semi skilled labor in their businesses. So the
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  Speaker 2: moment that a lot of our businesses also weren't eligible
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  Speaker 2: when job Keeper came around, everyone in the top end
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  Speaker 2: knows that a lot of our touring businesses in particular
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  Speaker 2: aren't operating through the web because a lot of purses
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  Speaker 2: they can't access. So they have a relationship that's gone
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  Speaker 2: on for years and years and years with their staff
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  Speaker 2: is you know, you're off our books for four months
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  Speaker 2: and then you have flat out on our books for
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  Speaker 2: the dry season. When job Keeper came along last year,
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  Speaker 2: a lot of these people weren't on the books therefore
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  Speaker 2: weren't eligible, And of course these touring companies weren't able
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  Speaker 2: to stand up their business to be able to employ people.
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  Speaker 2: Now they're looking to employ tour guides, drivers, deckhands, cap
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  Speaker 2: for small small and some of our inland cruising, and
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  Speaker 2: those people aren't in the territory anymore. They've all gone
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  Speaker 2: back to Sydney and Melbourne. And then we look at
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  Speaker 2: our hospitality and our hotel sector and there's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of empty spaces there and one of the biggest challenges.
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  Speaker 2: And I just listened to what Alex had to say
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  Speaker 2: and I thought I really loved his advice that comment
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  Speaker 2: around as a Territori and to understand that we've got
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  Speaker 2: some gaps here. One of the best ways we can
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  Speaker 2: impress a local a visitor to our great place is
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  Speaker 2: to be able just to take their mind off the
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  Speaker 2: fact that they're waiting an extra three minutes for a
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  Speaker 2: bit and have a chat to them and say good ay.
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  Speaker 2: And also as Territorians to understand that a lot of
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  Speaker 2: our business is one of off a great customer service
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  Speaker 2: and one of the challenges a lot of restaurants and
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  Speaker 2: bars and hotels and tour operators are facing right now
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  Speaker 2: is they're actually throttling back their business. Demand is huge,
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  Speaker 2: but they don't want to give a bad experience. They'd
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  Speaker 2: rather know online reputation than a poor one. So in
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  Speaker 2: doing that, that's why we're finding some places that you'd
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  Speaker 2: think would be open seven days but they're not, or
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  Speaker 2: you think they'd be open these hours and they're or
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  Speaker 2: they're not open at all, or you're walking in and
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  Speaker 2: you're saying you said you're full, but you only look
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  Speaker 2: like you're seventy percent. And that's because they don't want
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  Speaker 2: to overpromise and undeliver on the service. And the other thing,
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  Speaker 2: if I could just that extra moment for us, which
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  Speaker 2: I think is such the opportunity. Five point eight million
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  Speaker 2: Australians went on an overseas holiday in twenty nineteen. They
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  Speaker 2: can't do that this year. Territories big on their list.
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  Speaker 2: This is our time to shine and the real challenge
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  Speaker 2: of what we've got is people coming along and not
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  Speaker 2: having that gorgeous territory experience and in fact walking away
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  Speaker 2: going it's not what we thought it would be, and
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  Speaker 2: that forever days and we know the word of mouth
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  Speaker 2: is the most powerful marketing tool for any destination in
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  Speaker 2: the world, and we've got to get it right.
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  Speaker 1: And I like the point that both you and Alex
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  Speaker 1: have made that we as Territorians can try our best
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  Speaker 1: as well to welcome tourists. I mean, even on the
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  Speaker 1: last weekend, I was somewhere and there was these tourists
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  Speaker 1: I think they were from Ballarat, and I thought, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know if I've ever seen these tourists from Ballarat before.
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  Speaker 1: How wonderful. And they were talking about the great experience
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  Speaker 1: that they'd been having, and you know, they'd ridden their
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  Speaker 1: scooters down to get their nails done and do a
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  Speaker 1: few different things. I thought, how fabulous. That's exactly what
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  Speaker 1: we want happening.
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  Speaker 2: Yep. And because we've let's crossover for the last few
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  Speaker 2: months of people coming into the center, the team in
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  Speaker 2: the travels center here locals with vouchers and tourists coming
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  Speaker 2: in and quite often in the queue you find it's
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  Speaker 2: actually locals turning around and saying, I've ever heard your conversation.
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  Speaker 2: I can give you some information when you go here
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  Speaker 2: and go there and do this. Just can't miss out
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  Speaker 2: on that. Yeah, just in gorgeous.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, ah, that is wonderful and yeah, I reckon, we
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  Speaker 1: all need to try and do that a bit more.
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  Speaker 1: If you can see there's some tourists around. I do
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  Speaker 1: when I'm out running as well, Glenn, if you can
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  Speaker 1: see people look like they're tourists, always make sure I
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  Speaker 1: say good morning and give them a wave, give them
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  Speaker 1: a friendly greeting while they're here.
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  Speaker 2: Well, anyway, we've all traveled and we all remember those
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  Speaker 2: destinations with the friendly destinations, the one that people took
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  Speaker 2: the time to say gooday when you stood on that
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  Speaker 2: corner of on the intersection trying to work out whether
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  Speaker 2: to go left or right and someone came along said
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  Speaker 2: can I give your hand say and that feeling was
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  Speaker 2: one of the most enduring experiences that will stay with
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  Speaker 2: you on any destination, on any holiday. Yeah. Absolutely, we
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  Speaker 2: want to be able to deliver.
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  Speaker 1: I agree with you. Well, Tourism Top End General Manager,
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  Speaker 1: Glenn Hinley, It's always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you again soon.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katie. Thanks you