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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us on the line right now is the Tourism
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Top End General manager Glenn Hinley for a real change
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of pace.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Good morning Glenn, Good morning Katie.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: No, hell yeah, really well now, Glenn, we know that
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the borders are going to be opening on Monday to Melbourne.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Yesterday we spoke to Alex Bruce from Hospitality Inta about
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the changes to contact tracing and the additional safeguards which
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: are going to be in place as tourists from additional
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: locations start to arrive. What kind of impact do you
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: think it's going to have with the Melbourne hotspot being lifted.
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  Speaker 1: Are we going to see plenty more tourists traveling to
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  Speaker 1: the territory.
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  Speaker 2: We will see more. What we do know is that
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  Speaker 2: we are in a massive competition when it comes to
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  Speaker 2: tourists who are from safe places that are able to
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: travel around Australia. Queensland in there South Australia's in their
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: New South Wales and of course the Victorian government are
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  Speaker 2: spending million now on encouraging Victorians to holiday in Victoria.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: So we are really grateful that Tourism and TEE had
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  Speaker 2: the foresight to maintain a level of clever advertising through
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  Speaker 2: the time where Victorians sadly locked down at home but
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  Speaker 2: sitting there watching their TVs with their mobile phones and
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  Speaker 2: iPads and phone of them, so still getting that messaging.
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  Speaker 2: So now is the time that we hope that that
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  Speaker 2: pays off and that Victorians that are well and from
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  Speaker 2: places that remain safe or able to travel north. So
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  Speaker 2: it's a very competitive market domestically, I put to that
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  Speaker 2: as well. You know last year, last year twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 2: there was eleven point six million Australians went outbound. Half
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  Speaker 2: of those were for holidays, so that's five point eight
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  Speaker 2: million Australian holidays went overseas last year arly Thailand.
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  Speaker 1: So we need them to go some way, We need
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  Speaker 1: them to come to the territory. Glenn, you'd think the
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  Speaker 1: Victorians have had enough of Victoria at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, but I also think you know, one of
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  Speaker 2: the things that we think about when we're talking about
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  Speaker 2: the marketing and talking about that is the psychology and
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  Speaker 2: how quickly things change, and that's all deeply embedded in
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  Speaker 2: people's minds. Now that and we saw this couple of
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  Speaker 2: weeks ago with South Australia with people who just pop
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: down for the weekend to see there maybe not so
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  Speaker 2: well grand grandparent and then found to get back with
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  Speaker 2: two weeks. So this is a whole new level thinking
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  Speaker 2: for people in their travel. But that said, we are
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  Speaker 2: we've done very well to manage this situation right throughout
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  Speaker 2: the year. And I think one of the other things
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  Speaker 2: that tourism absolutely supports your conversation with alex SA and
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  Speaker 2: alexcited working closely with government on this that having that
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  Speaker 2: contact tracing capability to be able to stay in a
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  Speaker 2: healthy position where we are just so important for businesses,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: for the staff, and of course for the communities.
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  Speaker 1: Now Glenn, we also know, or we've certainly seen nationally
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  Speaker 1: in media reports that there's been up to a three
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  Speaker 1: hundred percent decrease in flight purchases into Queensland after they
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: declared that they're opening their borders to Victoria and New
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: South Wales. Have we found that there's been much of
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  Speaker 1: an increase, you know, over the over recent months, so
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  Speaker 1: sort of month or months into the northern territory, we.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Have been seeing gradual increases in that air capacity. Absolutely,
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  Speaker 2: and I wouldn't be saying it's in those three hundred percent,
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: and I'm trying to track down those that's all right.
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  Speaker 2: Point that's whether that's someone who's been repeated on and on,
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  Speaker 2: but definitely you know, my counterpart over in Queensland was
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  Speaker 2: saying yesterday that when that announcement came, the pent up
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: demand that they had for them the phone for ring
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Hot and they've got very busy, very quickly. But also
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  Speaker 2: with that, so did the pricing. Where it was last
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  Speaker 2: week quite cheap to go and a holiday and place
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  Speaker 2: like Queen's and suddenly got very expensive. And that's what
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  Speaker 2: demand does. So I think from a territory point of view,
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  Speaker 2: we are very competitive price wise. We offer a great destination.
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  Speaker 2: We will see the increase in the aircraft in air capacity,
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  Speaker 2: we're seeing that now and we've got to keep working
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  Speaker 2: hard to maintain our space. The decision makers at the
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  Speaker 2: airlines Quannas and Virgin that when they're thinking about where
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  Speaker 2: they're going to be allocating the aircrafts, they're bringing them
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  Speaker 2: back on to line that we stay top of mind.
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  Speaker 2: And I know that team of Tourism and Tea are
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  Speaker 2: doing that. We're certainly doing everything we can to.
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  Speaker 1: Support them now, Glenn, we've spoken on numerous occasions about
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  Speaker 1: the tourism vouchers and how they've gone. I know that that.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously plenty of people disappointed when they missed out, But
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  Speaker 1: then there was the second chance to get your hand
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  Speaker 1: hands on a tourism voucher, wasn't there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there was, So three thousand people on the wait
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  Speaker 2: list would have got their vouchers yesterday this morning, there'll
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  Speaker 2: be another three thousand going out today. So that's an
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  Speaker 2: amalgamation of people who got a voucher and didn't get
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to use it within the two weeks expiry date, or
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  Speaker 2: they didn't use the full two hundred dollars amount. So
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  Speaker 2: therefore that goes back into the kiddy and other vouchers
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  Speaker 2: are able to be able to be created by that
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  Speaker 2: understand amount.
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  Speaker 1: So did you say, did you say three thousand yesterday
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  Speaker 1: and three thousand more today today?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, going out. So that that's because there's two parts
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  Speaker 2: to this kdie. There's the vouchers, but there's also that
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  Speaker 2: two hundred dollar bonus claim for people who traveled four
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  Speaker 2: hundred kilometers, So they've got to keep that in check
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  Speaker 2: so that for every voucher there's a capacity of fell
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  Speaker 2: and travels four hundred kilometers, goes and spends a couple
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  Speaker 2: of nights in Kakadoo, spends a couple of days in Catherine,
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  Speaker 2: then spends a day a couple of days in Litchfield.
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  Speaker 2: That's a four hundred kilometer trip. So therefore they are
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  Speaker 2: per person, per voucher able to make an application to
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  Speaker 2: Tourism NTEE for a two hundred dollars additional bonus claim.
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  Speaker 2: But what we're finding is so many of the voucher
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  Speaker 2: holders are thinking, it's Christmas. I'm going to go and
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  Speaker 2: buy some experiences for my family. I've got even laws
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  Speaker 2: coming to town. I want to take them around to
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  Speaker 2: go use the vouchers for themselves and get mother in
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  Speaker 2: law to pay for the rest. And also, you know
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  Speaker 2: they're thinking about what the kids are going to be
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  Speaker 2: doing during school holidays and buying passes of attractions and
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  Speaker 2: on local tourers, so that extra bonus claim isn't being spent.
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  Speaker 2: So when that vouch has been redeemed and there's no
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  Speaker 2: bonus claim attach to it, that can be converted into
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  Speaker 2: a voucherly.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you what it sounds as though they've been
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  Speaker 1: incredibly popular. There'll be lots of happy people today, or
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  Speaker 1: three thousand happy people today, and yesterday as well finding
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: out that they're able to get their hands on a voucher.
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  Speaker 2: Now, since the start of round two, we've had close
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  Speaker 2: to eight thousand vouchers redeemed. Eighty three percent of those
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  Speaker 2: have booked online, and of that we have we're tracking
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  Speaker 2: these numbers because we've done a lot of work in
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  Speaker 2: terms of helping our businesses get digitally connected in real
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  Speaker 2: time so you can make those bookings. And it's eighty
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  Speaker 2: four percent of all the sales since the start of
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: the second round are instantly available either over the counter,
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  Speaker 2: you can just you can tell I want that book,
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  Speaker 2: gives you a credit card, you walk away with the voucher,
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  Speaker 2: or go online and book it in real time and
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  Speaker 2: get your voucher and get on your way well and
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  Speaker 2: get out and support great tourism operators at the top end.
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  Speaker 2: They're just so grateful.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly right. Got to make sure we're supporting
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  Speaker 1: our tourism operators. Well, Glenn Hengley, it's always lovely to
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  Speaker 1: talk to you, mate. We really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Tatie, thank you very much, and thank you everybody. Thank
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: you you too. Mate.
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  Speaker 1: Well, hopefully we'll talk to you before Christmas that is
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  Speaker 1: a tourism top end General manager there, Glenn Hingley