The Chairman of Tourism Whitsundays has admitted that the tourism industry in the Whitsunday Islands and Mainland "is at crisis point" due to the massive decline in real and expected visitors.
In this weeks 'Comment by the Chair' in the Whitsunday Times (29 April 2010) , Mr Chris Jacobs has accepted that our region's tourism industry is in a sad state and that "Something pretty drastic needs to be done to pull us out of this slump"
It should be noted that Mr Jacobs' organization, Tourism Whitsundays, lists on its website that
"We are the peak marketing body, promoting this wonderful destination around Australia and to the world",
however, there is no mention (in the editorial) of Tourism Whitsundays accepting even partial responsibility for the sad state of affairs the tourism industry in our region is experiencing at the moment.
Two much publicised campaigns initiated by Tourism Whitsundays to rescue tourism in the region were:
to increase flights into the region, and
a 'dive wreck trail'.
Both these campaigns collapsed last week (more), with Jetstar reducing services from Melbourne & Brisbane this month, and the Federal Government refusing to fund the dive wrecks.
Maybe the 'pretty drastic' action Mr Jacobs says needs to be done is to take away the marketing responsibilities of this region away from Tourism Whitsundays, now.
"We are the peak marketing body, promoting this wonderful destination around Australia and to the world",
however, there is no mention (in the editorial) of Tourism Whitsundays accepting even partial responsibility for the sad state of affairs the tourism industry in our region is experiencing at the moment.
Two much publicised campaigns initiated by Tourism Whitsundays to rescue tourism in the region were:
to increase flights into the region, and
a 'dive wreck trail'.
Both these campaigns collapsed last week (more), with Jetstar reducing services from Melbourne & Brisbane this month, and the Federal Government refusing to fund the dive wrecks.
Maybe the 'pretty drastic' action Mr Jacobs says needs to be done is to take away the marketing responsibilities of this region away from Tourism Whitsundays, now.
Timeline showing people searching for travel in the Whitsundays, notable events, and tourism numbers - supplied by Advance Whitsundays
Text version of 'Comment by the Chair'
Mr Chris Jacobs, Chairman, Tourism Whitsundays
Printed Thursday 29 April, 2010
OVER the last few weeks my column whilst full of good news and due praise has left me feeling uneasy.
And why? Because Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is at crisis point.
When my business partner and I made the decision to invest in the region and set up Cruise Whitsundays, the place looked like a bullet proof holiday nirvana.
There were 754,000 visitors to the Whitsundays and it was the beginnings of the Jetstar and Virgin era.
Whilst there were some issues with the change in carriers there were to be 140,000 thousand more airline seats into the region per annum. Everywhere enjoyed good occupancies and it seemed like a new apartment development started on that hill every week.
Just quietly, ever so quietly, all that promise of growth has been drifting away.
All those apartments have been built and island resorts upgraded, yet the region experiences an ever diminishing number of visitors.
Properties in the tourism accommodation sector get excited if they are achieving 60%+ occupancy year round. The region now sees just 627,000 visitors a year. We have held our own with International visitors this year but domestic tourism, the life blood of this region, is down a massive 26%.
Take a walk down main street Airlie.
Retail space, once in high demand with more potential tenants than space, lie empty.
I know of two more retail stores closing their doors.
Restaurants that once thrived sit empty, the old signs the only indication of what once was.
There are exceptions - Hamilton Island continues to do exceptionally well and the overnight backpacker sector is doing well.
I'm sure there are others but on the whole the tourism industry and as a direct result many of the businesses that succeed on the back of that industry are struggling as well.
Whitsunday Treasure, launched by concerned locals for all the right reasons, stalled because of some inherent weaknesses in the campaign but the driving force and the sentiment of the organizers and all those who signed up to support it remains. Something pretty drastic needs to be done to pull us out of this slump.
At TW we have seen all the signs and we have been putting an enormous amount of work into what we can do as part of the fix with the resources we have available.
Over the next month we will come to sectors of the industry, and eventually everyone who will listen, to present our plans and to seek your endorsement and support.
No guarantees on the table at all except one - if this region does not unite and work together to solve its economic woes we can all be sure of one thing - more of the same.
And why? Because Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is at crisis point.
When my business partner and I made the decision to invest in the region and set up Cruise Whitsundays, the place looked like a bullet proof holiday nirvana.
There were 754,000 visitors to the Whitsundays and it was the beginnings of the Jetstar and Virgin era.
Whilst there were some issues with the change in carriers there were to be 140,000 thousand more airline seats into the region per annum. Everywhere enjoyed good occupancies and it seemed like a new apartment development started on that hill every week.
Just quietly, ever so quietly, all that promise of growth has been drifting away.
All those apartments have been built and island resorts upgraded, yet the region experiences an ever diminishing number of visitors.
Properties in the tourism accommodation sector get excited if they are achieving 60%+ occupancy year round. The region now sees just 627,000 visitors a year. We have held our own with International visitors this year but domestic tourism, the life blood of this region, is down a massive 26%.
Take a walk down main street Airlie.
Retail space, once in high demand with more potential tenants than space, lie empty.
I know of two more retail stores closing their doors.
Restaurants that once thrived sit empty, the old signs the only indication of what once was.
There are exceptions - Hamilton Island continues to do exceptionally well and the overnight backpacker sector is doing well.
I'm sure there are others but on the whole the tourism industry and as a direct result many of the businesses that succeed on the back of that industry are struggling as well.
Whitsunday Treasure, launched by concerned locals for all the right reasons, stalled because of some inherent weaknesses in the campaign but the driving force and the sentiment of the organizers and all those who signed up to support it remains. Something pretty drastic needs to be done to pull us out of this slump.
At TW we have seen all the signs and we have been putting an enormous amount of work into what we can do as part of the fix with the resources we have available.
Over the next month we will come to sectors of the industry, and eventually everyone who will listen, to present our plans and to seek your endorsement and support.
No guarantees on the table at all except one - if this region does not unite and work together to solve its economic woes we can all be sure of one thing - more of the same.
Sources:
2 comments:
It has to be said that Chris jacob's lament has been an absolute PR disaster - as it has been widely covered in the regional and national media. just because the rabbit in the headlights can tell you what make and model of truck is about to run it over does not make the rabbit a prophet or leader - just roadkill! but what is even worse is that there has been no local backlash - maybe this is just indicative of the complacency which is at the root of the endemic poor service and shabby amenities which prevails in Airlie Beach.
As a British person currently living in the Whitsunday, it is easy to see why it is failing and will continue to fail in the foreseeable future. Assurances that the market will recover over the next year or two are completely UNFOUNDED, UNREALISTIC and just a couple of minutes research into the current and predicted conditions of the UK economy alone will reinforce this. The UK will take YEARS to recover and when it does people will continue to be prudent - these current times are lessons learned.
There are a number of reasons why UK visitors have slumped and will continue to slump.
Firstly exchange rates. Paying $4-$5 for a latte is ridiculous. $50 for a basket of food is ridiculous. British people quite simply do not pay these prices in the UK.
Ambience. There is little of it in the Whitsundays. Developers and retailers seem to get it wrong wrong wrong time and time again. European Tourists want and expect character, tastefulness, uniqueness, not trashy tourist crap and buildings that may well be practical but lack character and uniqueness. We see this time and time and again in Australia. Where are the beach night markets, street food, where is the buzz, the ambient music. You have a prime beach front there and you do NOTHING with it. Instead we have cheap and chavvy magnums blaring out cheesy crap in a prime location, and crap restaurants who feel they are deserving of the high quality prices they charge.
And to top it off they put up the ugliest industrial style building in front of a pretty hill to greet tourists brave enough to venture into Airlie town. Bunnings. How many hardware shops can a miniature town support? How many day spas can such a miniature town support? It can't. Seems to me there has been very little thought into the creation of plastic fantastic Airlie Beach and lets face it, our European tourists will get much more bang for it's buck in much more ambient places where emphasis is on quality rather than ripping people off!
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