Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Tourism Top End General Manager Glen Hindley

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

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  Speaker 1: Now we know that tourism certainly is doing it tough
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  Speaker 1: and have been for quite some time, but these lockdowns
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  Speaker 1: no doubt having a massive impact. And joining us on
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  Speaker 1: the line to talk more about this is Tourism Top
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  Speaker 1: Ends General Manager, Glenn Hingley, Good morning to you, Glenn.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, good morning, good morning listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Glenn, I know that well you are advocating for urgent
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  Speaker 1: support for the industry which was already losing up to
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  Speaker 1: seven point six million dollars per day with our key
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  Speaker 1: domestic markets in lockdown before the current lockdown was introduced
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  Speaker 1: in Darwin and Catherine, Glenn, just how tough for our
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  Speaker 1: tourism operators going at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Doing incredibly tough. I mean from a tourism perspective, first
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  Speaker 2: and foremost, the customers of tourism are actually sitting in Sydney,
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  Speaker 2: in Melbourne before this current lockdown and they're in lockdown.
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  Speaker 2: So lockdown in our southern states since prior to the
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  Speaker 2: last lockdown in Bowen has been lockow and on tourism
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  Speaker 2: industry and so many of our our small businesses have
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  Speaker 2: been relying upon the tourists that are here who don't
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  Speaker 2: want to be of course loving the lifestyle and what
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  Speaker 2: have you. They've been just so dependent upon the tourists
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  Speaker 2: are in town and the top end to turn a dollar.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, can I just say too, My heart
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  Speaker 2: is with and our thoughts are with all of Darwin
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  Speaker 2: and Catherine's casual workers who right now are sitting at
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  Speaker 2: home with no income yet will still be faced with
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  Speaker 2: bills for rent, their mortgages, their electricity, all their fixed costs,
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  Speaker 2: but have no income support whatsoever. And equally for all
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  Speaker 2: those businesses that we're doing it extremely tough, and the
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  Speaker 2: tourism sector and for all businesses doing it tough this week,
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  Speaker 2: he'll still be faced with their bills from their landlords,
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  Speaker 2: from their electricity, from their insurances. A thousand dollars is
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  Speaker 2: going to go nowhere, nowhere to helping these people at
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  Speaker 2: these times who have had to close their businesses through
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  Speaker 2: no fauld of their own.
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  Speaker 1: Glenn, what can the government do, like what can happen
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  Speaker 1: in this space for our tourism operators and those that
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  Speaker 1: work in tourism.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think what we're calling on then territory government
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  Speaker 2: and the Commonwealth government to get beyond just talking, but
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  Speaker 2: to move quickly and to come forward together with assistance
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  Speaker 2: packages to keep Territorians connected with their businesses. So we're
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  Speaker 2: talking about job keeper mark too. As much as everyone
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  Speaker 2: wants to deflect it and they don't call it that,
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  Speaker 2: we know that that worked last year. We know that
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  Speaker 2: that kept businesses afloat, and we know that it kept
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  Speaker 2: it genuine businesses afloat and Territorians connected to their businesses.
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  Speaker 2: And we also need a program to help those businesses
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  Speaker 2: in severe financial distress right now to be able to
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  Speaker 2: meet their fixed costs such as their rent, their leases,
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  Speaker 2: insurances and other major expenses. It's these businesses that are
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  Speaker 2: critical to our tourism industry. It's these businesses that weren't
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  Speaker 2: picked up in tourism bouts, which we all remember fondly.
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  Speaker 2: You know, around one, two and three there was still
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  Speaker 2: a sector of our tourism industry. And mainly I'm talking
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  Speaker 2: about our touring companies. The reasons why people come to
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  Speaker 2: the territory to the top end. They every Territorian's got
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  Speaker 2: a car, or had access to a car, or they
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  Speaker 2: rented a car. Very few, in fact, very few got
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  Speaker 2: on one of our award winning local touring companies to
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  Speaker 2: go to Lichfield, to go to Kakadu to go to
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  Speaker 2: around Darwin. Those businesses are in dire need because we
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  Speaker 2: know they're the reasons why people get on the plane,
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  Speaker 2: stay in the hotels, eat in the restaurants, eat shop
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  Speaker 2: at the retailers so that they can get out and
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  Speaker 2: around on these award winning and I say national international
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  Speaker 2: award winning tour companies that have been with us for
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  Speaker 2: decades that are in severe crisis at the moment. So
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  Speaker 2: we've got to look after those businesses. And I get
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  Speaker 2: all businesses are hurting, but there are some businesses that
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  Speaker 2: are genuinely doing it extremely tough that are sitting at home,
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  Speaker 2: living in their depots. There's a question do they close
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  Speaker 2: the business, do they keep They've sold off as much
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  Speaker 2: of their small touring vehicles as they can, and that
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  Speaker 2: they don't know where the next dollar is going to
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  Speaker 2: come from or they're getting is bills being sent to
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  Speaker 2: them that they must pay. So we need support around
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  Speaker 2: rent relief. We absolutely need a moratorymde government costs for
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  Speaker 2: these small businesses and we need to help them keep
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  Speaker 2: staff connected to their businesses because when in order for
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  Speaker 2: the economy to bounce back, these businesses need to be
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  Speaker 2: able to fire up straight away. And I like in
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  Speaker 2: this pandemic situation to a cyclone. When a cyclone comes in,
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  Speaker 2: it takes out a lot of businesses have to go
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  Speaker 2: through that reconstruction phase, and government plays a big role
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  Speaker 2: in getting infrastructure back up and running, and then they
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  Speaker 2: go into a marketing phase to get tourists and visitors
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  Speaker 2: coming back to the destination, be at the top End
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  Speaker 2: or cans. But if we don't have the staff in place,
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  Speaker 2: it's all for nothing because the businesses can't operate because
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  Speaker 2: those staff are unemployed and potentially left and gone back
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  Speaker 2: home to Sydney Melbourne. So there's a couple of things
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  Speaker 2: here that are acutely felt. And I know that we're
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  Speaker 2: in the middle of Darwin and Catherine lockdown at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: But this isn't a cry for help based upon the
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  Speaker 2: current situation. This has been going on for some time.
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  Speaker 2: And the businesses that are so dependent upon having a
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  Speaker 2: cracking July in August so that they can have enough
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  Speaker 2: money in their cash flow to get through Christmas. Right
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  Speaker 2: now we're faced with businesses that won't be around in Christmas.
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  Speaker 2: They won't be able to put through it on the
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  Speaker 2: table for family at Christmas Day. You know, I'm grateful
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  Speaker 2: that the government's trying to do something, but a thousand
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  Speaker 2: dollars isn't going.
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  Speaker 1: To do it, no, And you know you're right, Like
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  Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you and I have
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  Speaker 1: been talking about this for weeks now, for even longer,
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  Speaker 1: and this just this latest lockdown really just exasperates the situation. Glenn,
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  Speaker 1: how from tourism's perspective, how are you feeling about the fact.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I know the Chief Minister's been out on
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  Speaker 1: his social media this morning and said that there's no
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  Speaker 1: new cases overnight in the Northern territory. Is it a
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  Speaker 1: concern to you that a whole tree can be locked
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  Speaker 1: down with one case of COVID?
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  Speaker 2: Katie, I think one of the things I'm enormously proud
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  Speaker 2: of the industry that I work in is putting the
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  Speaker 2: healthful well being of territorians first, all territorians, especially that
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  Speaker 2: third of our territories that are considered most vulnerable, and
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  Speaker 2: that we can't take a chance. We saw that New
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  Speaker 2: South Wales started with one driver just doing his job,
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  Speaker 2: taking an American flight crew to the airport. And look
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  Speaker 2: where they're at now, and look how many people have
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  Speaker 2: lost their lives. We saw this has happened time and
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  Speaker 2: time again in other parts around Astray and around the world.
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  Speaker 2: So from a we've got to put community in the
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  Speaker 2: health of businesses first, I don't think you find anyone
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  Speaker 2: in tourism saying that this is the wrong move and
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  Speaker 2: that it had to be done quickly, but equally that
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  Speaker 2: there's also got to be an understanding that there's an
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  Speaker 2: ethical responsibility here by government to support those businesses. It
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  Speaker 2: closes down that in that dire need that can't get
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  Speaker 2: through these for tourism. And I'm sorry for everyone listening
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  Speaker 2: that's not in the tourism industry saying our business is
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  Speaker 2: suffering as well. I get that, but our customers in
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  Speaker 2: the tourism industry have been in lockdown now for months.
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  Speaker 2: We haven't seen any new customers. The analysis that's been
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  Speaker 2: done already is that this year, instead of being able
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  Speaker 2: to achieve what we did in twenty nineteen of two
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  Speaker 2: point four billion dollar contribution to our economy, this year
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  Speaker 2: we've seen a lot of one point six billion dollars
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  Speaker 2: in canceled and full gone bookings. People that normally would
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  Speaker 2: come from international markets and interstate markets aren't coming here
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  Speaker 2: and the tourism sector, the visitor economy is number four
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  Speaker 2: in the economic drivers of this territory. If we are
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  Speaker 2: going to get out of this economic pay that we've
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  Speaker 2: been in for so long time now, tourism is one
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  Speaker 2: of the drivers. It brings new money to the territory.
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  Speaker 2: And I think government cannot expect small business to be
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  Speaker 2: the credit card of this pandemic. It is just not
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  Speaker 2: fair on these small businesses and the Territorians are employed.
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  Speaker 2: Government has a moral and ethical duty to step in
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  Speaker 2: and support these businesses and they're done through a range
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  Speaker 2: of initiatives. And one of the things that certainly we're
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  Speaker 2: calling on is we know since May that there's been
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  Speaker 2: a round four of ours in the wind, but for
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  Speaker 2: reasons that we don't understand, government has yet to announce
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  Speaker 2: when round four will be. We've heard October, we've heard
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  Speaker 2: over Christmas. Businesses need that certainty now and we're calling
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  Speaker 2: on the Chief Minister and the government to say, let's
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  Speaker 2: agree that vouchers so Territorians complain what they're going to
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  Speaker 2: do for Christmas right now, what they can be doing
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  Speaker 2: in traveling when this lockdown lives, because we know they
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  Speaker 2: can't go to Sydney, Melbourne, so Territorians can do it.
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  Speaker 2: Let's get that moving. We know that that's going to
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  Speaker 2: give business certainly in continuity straight back, and let's not
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  Speaker 2: change the rules and make these adjustments. We've heard these
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  Speaker 2: plays that we're making adjustments to it all. It was
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  Speaker 2: complicated enough the first time. We've got it by the
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  Speaker 2: second and third roll before. And the other one is
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  Speaker 2: let's have a fair can look at businesses who are
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  Speaker 2: on the cusp of survival. We need to keep them solvent.
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  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, look, I really appreciate you having a chat
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  Speaker 1: with us this morning, Glenn, and I know I feel
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  Speaker 1: for our tourism operators, for everybody that's working in tourism
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  Speaker 1: at the moment. These are such uncertain times. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: then when you take away the customer base as different
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  Speaker 1: states are in lockdown, and we all get it, we
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  Speaker 1: all understand that it's got to stay safe. We've got
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  Speaker 1: to be safe for everybody and keep territory and safe.
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  Speaker 1: But we also need to start thinking a bit more
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  Speaker 1: broadly about you know, about those vaccination rates and what
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  Speaker 1: we need to be at in order to stay opened.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the vaccination, you know, it depends on wherever you
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  Speaker 2: stand on the vaccination, what's the alternative? What vaccination for
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  Speaker 2: us is the light at the end of the tunnel,
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  Speaker 2: And in the meantime it is practices like the QR code,
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  Speaker 2: the check in app. You know. I've spent this morning
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  Speaker 2: on a zoom call with thirty of our member businesses
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  Speaker 2: around Catherine doing a general check in. How are you going?
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  Speaker 2: What have we learned? Got any questions that haven't been
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  Speaker 2: answered just yet? But one of the biggest concerns that
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  Speaker 2: came out of that was that which we know that
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  Speaker 2: the lockdown continues while we try to sort out those
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  Speaker 2: people who didn't check in. It's simple, it's easy. Hopefully
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  Speaker 2: people have seen the messaging around that we've joined forces
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  Speaker 2: with Hospitality and Tea in the Day and City Waterfront
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  Speaker 2: Retails Association to have a television campaign that we're funding,
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  Speaker 2: they're not for profits funding to encourage people to please
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  Speaker 2: check in because we know that's what makes the track
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  Speaker 2: and tracing so much easier. And get these businesses and
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  Speaker 2: to get these territorians and so much of our territorians
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  Speaker 2: in our tourism, hospitality and retail space a casual workforce.
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  Speaker 2: When there's a lockdown, these guys lose their income, but
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  Speaker 2: their bills keep coming. We've got to get out of
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  Speaker 2: this and we've got to support them when we do
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  Speaker 2: go through these necessary lockdowns. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we are going to have to leave it there, mate.
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  Speaker 1: I always appreciate your time. Thank you so very much
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  Speaker 1: for having a chat with us. And look, this is
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  Speaker 1: something that I want to make sure that I do
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  Speaker 1: talk about this week as well on the week that was.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's really important that we have this discussion
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  Speaker 1: about the impacts on our tourism operators.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Good on Territorium.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, mate, thank you so much for your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning. We'll talk to you again soon.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Kerry, thank you, and everyone stay safe and
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  Speaker 2: we'll get through it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely good on you. Glenn. That's Tourism top end
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  Speaker 1: general manager there, Glenn Hingley. And and yeah, it is
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  Speaker 1: such a difficult time for you know, for those that
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  Speaker 1: work in tourism.