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Katie Woolf spoke with Kakadu Tourism Spokesperson Peter Hook · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about these hot spots and the impact that
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the COVID hotspots are having on some of our tourism
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: operators here in the territory. And joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line right now is Kakadoo Tourism spokesperson Peter Hook. Good
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Peter, Good morning, Good morning, Peter.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time today. I know
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  Speaker 1: that I know the COVID hot spots. It's a difficult
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  Speaker 1: one for everybody at the moment and we're all sort
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: of on tender hooks at different times, even New South
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  Speaker 1: Wales at the moment. We're keeping a very close eye
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  Speaker 1: on that situation. But Melbourne's COVID nineteen outbreak, by the
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  Speaker 1: look of it, had a massive impact on you guys.
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  Speaker 2: It certainly didn't. In fact, I was in Kakadoo at
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  Speaker 2: the time of the closure of borders to Melbourne and
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  Speaker 2: on that day we lost twenty thousand dollars a Quinto lodge,
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  Speaker 2: you know, a fairly small operation, twenty thousand dollars in
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  Speaker 2: a day, and the reality is uncertain to breed this
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  Speaker 2: concern for most travelers like you. We're watching the Sydney
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: incident quite closely because with the school holidays coming up.
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  Speaker 2: Everybody wants to be certain. And unfortunately it's actually quite
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  Speaker 2: strange because really we were very concerned with having to
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  Speaker 2: tell people there is no room at the inn until September,
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  Speaker 2: but now there is one. You know, there's been one
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  Speaker 2: bad side, but then some good side for the locals.
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  Speaker 1: Anyway, how difficult is it then, you know, when you're
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  Speaker 1: managing and when you're trying to operate, you know, I've
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  Speaker 1: well those locations and those wonderful, wonderful hotels like Cowinda Lodge,
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  Speaker 1: and you're ending up in a situation where you're having
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  Speaker 1: to then or you're seeing all of those bookings canceled.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Look, one of the biggest areas of concern is
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  Speaker 2: the groups. You know, there are a lot of groups
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  Speaker 2: with you know, in many cases elderly people, and they
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  Speaker 2: get nervous and obviously most people haven't been vaccinated completely yet,
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  Speaker 2: so therefore, if there is any concern like that, they
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  Speaker 2: will pull out in a day's notice. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: we really do have to respect that. It means a
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  Speaker 2: big hit to our bottom line. But look, we're getting
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  Speaker 2: used to it. In fact, I think I thirty one
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  Speaker 2: time before you know about this time last year we
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  Speaker 2: were envisaging closing the whole of our operations that in
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  Speaker 2: Kagado over the wet season, and it was because it
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  Speaker 2: was that depressing. Things then improved quite considerably, and in
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  Speaker 2: fact we've had the best wet season probably for over
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  Speaker 2: a decade, and we were looking for probably the best
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  Speaker 2: ever dry season in living memory. So you know, we've
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  Speaker 2: gone up very high, but we're sort of quite used
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  Speaker 2: to trying to sort of recapture what lost ground is
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  Speaker 2: happening at almost every day.
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  Speaker 1: So Peter, what happens then? You know, if you have
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  Speaker 1: those you know, like a high volume of cancelations like that,
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  Speaker 1: what happens to those rooms? Then just go back online
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  Speaker 1: to sell and hope that locals or somebody else are
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  Speaker 1: book scene exactly.
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  Speaker 2: When in fact that's the whole point. We did a
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  Speaker 2: really about a week ago we were looking at a
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  Speaker 2: message of you know, no rooms till September. Over the
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  Speaker 2: last week because of the situation with Melbourne and now Sydney,
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  Speaker 2: we're looking at occupancies, you know, losing about ten to
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  Speaker 2: twenty percent, especially in the next two weeks. Next two
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  Speaker 2: weeks which traditionally being school holiday periods down from the
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  Speaker 2: new South Wales and Victoria would be full. It does
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  Speaker 2: mean that we're looking very much at the territory market.
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  Speaker 2: We've had great support from Darwin and Catherine and places
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  Speaker 2: like that, and we are looking to at least tell
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  Speaker 2: people there is room now get in there before it
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  Speaker 2: does fill up. July is still looking very strong, but
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  Speaker 2: those particularly love camping and who can basically put a
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  Speaker 2: tent and a few things in the back of the ute,
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  Speaker 2: there is plenty of room down at Quinda and you know,
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  Speaker 2: probably at the crop. While at the moment at the
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  Speaker 2: crop we're looking at sort of about ninety percent throughout July.
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  Speaker 2: We just don't know. Yeah, I think that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the big message is that if you really want to
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  Speaker 2: get to Kakadu, look online. There is availability and you know,
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  Speaker 2: unfortunately the Southern States loss is possibly the territory's game.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we can hardly hope, so I can't we I mean,
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  Speaker 1: not that we want to take advantage of that too much,
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  Speaker 1: but I know that, you know, we have had some
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  Speaker 1: difficult years, so if we're able to have a really
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  Speaker 1: great year, it would be wonderful for everybody, you know,
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  Speaker 1: for everybody that works out there, for all of us
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  Speaker 1: as territories because the flow through to the economy is enormous.
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  Speaker 1: It is.
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  Speaker 2: Look, it has been quite extraordinaricating, it really has, because
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  Speaker 2: really we were so sort of depressed about things a
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  Speaker 2: year ago. Then things became fantastic. Then we couldn't get
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  Speaker 2: enough staff to actually look after all the guests. And
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  Speaker 2: by the way, if anyone listening wants a good job
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: down in Kakadho, we've got plenty of great jobs. Come
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  Speaker 2: and apply. But you know it is out of really
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  Speaker 2: a very desperate situation has improved dramatically. And I think
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  Speaker 2: you know it's been that case of everybody wanting or
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  Speaker 2: saying that kacka who's on the bucket list. We've kicked
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  Speaker 2: most people kick Kackadho off the bucket list now. But
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  Speaker 2: you know, when I was down there, I was swimming
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  Speaker 2: in the mcgook rock pool and I thought, you know,
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  Speaker 2: can I get any better than this? It is quite remarkable.
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  Speaker 2: And what we're hoping is that for all the territorians
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  Speaker 2: who've been down there, they will tell their friends and
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  Speaker 2: people who said, OK, I'll do it sometimes they'll do
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  Speaker 2: it now. So out of this despair, it's some good.
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  Speaker 2: But yes, we'd love that whole situation in the Southern
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  Speaker 2: States to get better.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Peter, just tell us very quickly in terms of
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  Speaker 1: the workforce shortage. It's something that's being felt all around
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory at the moment, but has been quite
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  Speaker 1: a tough situation for you in Kakadoo.
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  Speaker 2: Oh look at it was. Because the thing is that,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when you have a backpack of population traveling
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  Speaker 2: around Australia, people will come down and they think, well
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  Speaker 2: three months, that's fantastic, we'll do it. But obviously we
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  Speaker 2: haven't had much of that. So we're getting Australians from
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  Speaker 2: the Southern States to some extent people from Darwin. But
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  Speaker 2: you can't just switch it on. It's not even I
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  Speaker 2: mean not even like Darwin where you do have a
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  Speaker 2: population around there. You can't just say, oh, well we've
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  Speaker 2: got a full restaurant, call up people because ye're there.
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  Speaker 2: So Kuindra has done an incredible job attracting a really
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  Speaker 2: good starting I saw so many fantastic young Osiys and
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  Speaker 2: that really is very very positive. Young Olsies have come
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  Speaker 2: up to the Northern Territory for a gap year almost
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  Speaker 2: say well, look we're not going oversea. He's not going
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  Speaker 2: to work over there to come to the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm just hoping that out of this that instead
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  Speaker 2: of relying on backpackers, instead of relying on people just
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  Speaker 2: coming in, that it will become a regular part of
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: that gap year or you know, student or young person's
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  Speaker 2: desire to see Australia, earn some money and see something
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  Speaker 2: quite incredible.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, CAGAD Tourism spokesperson Peter Hawk great to speak
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  Speaker 1: with you this morning. Thank you so very much for
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  Speaker 1: your time. Thanks, thank you you too,