By Abbey Cannan
Over the eight day lockdown, Tourism Noosa has estimated the region copped almost $16 million in business losses.
Tourism Noosa CEO Melanie Anderson said it has been a challenging and nervous time for many operators.
“While lockdown has been lifted, it is the uncertainty of our key interstate markets and when they will return that is a big concern for many operators,“ she said.
“We have been in this position before and the drive market has played an important part in our road to recovery and will do so again over the oncoming weeks.“
Ms Anderson said she was aware of some local businesses having to stand down employees during last week’s lockdown, with the aim of returning workers as soon as they were able to open up business again.
“With continued lockdowns in other states and lower visitation to our region some operators are unfortunately needing to reducing staffing and or hours and there is some concern that it will be a slower return to normal business,“ she said.
“Supporting our members and the tourism community is always a key priority for Tourism Noosa and in challenging times like this, communication to our members is critical.“
Their team has been providing regular communication to members via their Covid page on the members toolkit as well as EDMs with news and information about latest developments, and support for the tourism industry from Tourism Noosa and other bodies. This could be anything from grants, financial support opportunities, the latest roadmaps and just in general information sharing.
“Like most businesses we are continually assessing where we are at, what we are doing with our marketing and pivoting to get through these challenging times,“ Ms Anderson said.
“One of our key priorities at the moment is looking at forward data, insights into consumer sentiment and reviewing where and when we can do targeted marketing to keep Noosa top of mind in markets that can travel to ultimately generate business for our region.“
Tourism Noosa is also working closely with Noosa Council and the newly organised Business Roundtable sub-group to consult, listen and develop appropriate support for the local business community. Other representatives include the Chamber of Commerce, Hastings Street Associations, a Representative from the Hinterland and various Council staff.
“Like last year, we are all in this together and we will get through these challenging times,“ Ms Anderson said.
“It is encouraging to see more and more of the community stepping up and getting vaccinated which is critical for our road to recovery.“
