Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce

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Katie Woolf spoke with Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: When we spoke to our next guest earlier in the week,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: it was when there was hotspot declarations in a number
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of states around Australia. We know that a couple of
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: those have now lifted. What's it meant for us here
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Well Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: joins us.
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  Speaker 2: On the line right now. Good morning, Alex.
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  Speaker 3: Good ay Katie Alex.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: How have the changes sort of impacted us?
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  Speaker 1: Now we know South Australia and Victoria have come out
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  Speaker 1: of those lockdowns, what kind of impact has it had
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  Speaker 1: for us?
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  Speaker 2: Sort of immediately.
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  Speaker 3: Any absolutely, and it's been very positive. So there was
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  Speaker 3: a bit of a lingering concern how much longer our
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: border restrictions would remain beyond the hotspots being listed at
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  Speaker 3: eleven fifty nine on Tuesday night in South Australia and Melbourne,
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  Speaker 3: and we were very pleased to hear the news that
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: it was one minute more and from midnight the border
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  Speaker 3: restrictions were getting eased. So yesterday the phones were ringing hot,
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  Speaker 3: particularly from Burni Ins, contacting accommodation houses right across the
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: city saying can we get our cancer booking back please?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, and I've no doubt that it probably has
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  Speaker 1: had an impact on different events. We know that this
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  Speaker 1: weekend is the Darwin Cup and they would have been
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  Speaker 1: expecting a.
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  Speaker 2: Lot of interstate visitors.
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  Speaker 1: Any idea whether some of those are coming to the
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  Speaker 1: territory again for Darwin Cup Day or what impact that's had.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, there is, pleasingly people that had held on to
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  Speaker 3: their hospitality throughout the weekend or madly tried to claw
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  Speaker 3: it back again yesterday the Cup ball And you know,
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  Speaker 3: Brad Morgan and the team are doing a phenomenal job
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  Speaker 3: and it's his news to report official numbers and things.
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  Speaker 3: But I know that I was getting as low as
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  Speaker 3: about four fifty last Friday, and then by Tuesday they
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  Speaker 3: were telling the catering company involved, we're better plan for
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  Speaker 3: more like eleven hundred. So it's quite a massive significant turnaround.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and yeah, difficult when it comes to organizing any
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  Speaker 1: like any kind of significant event at the moment because
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  Speaker 1: there's so many changes coming in, you know, so many
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  Speaker 1: changes when it comes to those hot spots and lockdowns,
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  Speaker 1: and you want to make sure that you're as organized
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  Speaker 1: as possible, but gee, it makes it tough for those
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  Speaker 1: event organizers, it.
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  Speaker 3: Does, and it really hits our fly drive market at
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  Speaker 3: the moment, or just fly up and stay in and
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  Speaker 3: around the city as part of the Cup or coming
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  Speaker 3: into Darwin Festival as well. The other side of it
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  Speaker 3: is it's not it's not shared equally across the territory
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  Speaker 3: and Australian's got a heavy dose of border restrictions again
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  Speaker 3: across the country, so it does put a hesitancy into
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  Speaker 3: would be tourist's mind about leaving their home states.
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  Speaker 1: But obviously, but obviously when South Australia and Victoria lifted,
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  Speaker 1: we did see you know, some of that lift to
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  Speaker 1: some degree.
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  Speaker 3: Correct, So accommodation was sitting fifty sixty percent before those
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: hot spots were listed. Now we think they're on tracks
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  Speaker 3: for eighty five ninety percent. Bearing in mind you couldn't
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  Speaker 3: get a room for a couple weekend five six weeks
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  Speaker 3: ago and we were solidly booked for the next few months,
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  Speaker 3: which is what we need to be in our peak season.
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  Speaker 3: You know how much it does drop off in the
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  Speaker 3: build up, so we've clawed a lot of it back
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  Speaker 3: and looking around the country again, we wouldn't want to
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  Speaker 3: be anywhere else.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, what about in Central Australia because we obviously caught
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: up with tourism Central Australia earlier in the week and
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  Speaker 1: they had really serious concerns. You know, they've seen such
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  Speaker 1: significant drops to tourism as a result of those lockdowns.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know if they've had much movement with these
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  Speaker 1: changes over the last couple of days.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, look similarly Alice Springs accommodations very solidly recovered, but
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  Speaker 3: it's not spread equally. There's a big drive market, you know,
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  Speaker 3: you only have to drive between Darwin and Catherine and
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  Speaker 3: it's going at the moment there are a lot of
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  Speaker 3: caravans out and about and that looks like it will
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  Speaker 3: continue for the next few weeks. But we particularly do
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  Speaker 3: feel for our tourism operator family ones where you know
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  Speaker 3: z providing transport that's not getting as much take up,
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  Speaker 3: you know, the tour buses and some of those bespoke
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  Speaker 3: products because you know, the self drive markets bringing their
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  Speaker 3: own vehicle, those kinds of things. So it is a
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  Speaker 3: mixed bag. But again our short shart lockdown Darwin and
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  Speaker 3: Dallas compared to the rolling unfortunate quagmire in Sydney. You know,
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  Speaker 3: we do have to acknowledge that once again we've been
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  Speaker 3: able to pull out of it stronger than most.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Hey, I understand as well that a new fund
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  Speaker 1: has been set up to assist hospitality workers.
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  Speaker 2: What's this all about.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So, we've been collaborating with the government for many
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  Speaker 3: years now in workforce development issues, and we've spoken obviously
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  Speaker 3: many times that when COVID borders and lockdowns aren't our
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  Speaker 3: biggest issue, it's workforce shortage and how to how to
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: plug those gaps. So another one that we've been endorsed
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  Speaker 3: with Minister Kirby, Jobs and Training Minister, that we're launching today.
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  Speaker 3: It's for existing local territory and hospitality workers. We're going
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  Speaker 3: to help pick up some of their costs flights, accommodation. Non.
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  Speaker 3: Think of a young up and coming chefs if they
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  Speaker 3: would benefit by going somewhere into state and seeing some skills,
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  Speaker 3: or we send a team int with Martin, the head
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  Speaker 3: of the Culinary Federation up here down in and we
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  Speaker 3: compete in some of those or some of the cocktail
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  Speaker 3: making competitions. It's a way to build the camaraderie in
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  Speaker 3: our industry, we think, which will ultimately help us retain
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  Speaker 3: those hard working local workers that have been with us,
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  Speaker 3: and you know, they're so critical. We need to keep them.
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  Speaker 1: So if someone out there listening right now is thinking,
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  Speaker 1: oh okay, I could do that, where can they head
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  Speaker 1: to to get a bit more info?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, sure, just admin at hospitalitynt dot com dot au
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  Speaker 3: or find us on faith book. We're definitely first and
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  Speaker 3: foremost trying to grow locally as much as we can.
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  Speaker 3: Hospitality workers.
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  Speaker 2: Well, good on you, Alex. It's always good to catch
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  Speaker 2: up with you, and we'll catch up with you again,
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: so no doubt. Yeah, Jeers Katie, thank you