Accommodation Association disappointed with Qld border closure to NSW and ACT

PEAK industry body, the Accommodation Association said yesterday the decision to close the Queensland border to NSW and ACT is "disappointing given there has only been a total of 21 cases in the past four weeks".

Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long said, “The Accommodation Sector agrees that health considerations must be at the forefront of decision making however this decision comes with absolutely no warning and will now mean an acceleration of job losses in Queensland’s tourism sector.

“The closing of Queensland’s border to the whole of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory when there have been just 21 cases in total over the past month, less than one case a day, is extremely disappointing," he said.

“It is absolutely critical that we get the balance right between protecting lives and protecting jobs. The flow-on ramifications of slamming shut borders are huge.

"This decision not only costs Queensland lost revenue from tourism but the reverse applies back into New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This is a decision which has very real, very damaging consequences for hotels, motels and serviced apartment providers, for all those tourism and tourism-related businesses and communities and for the economies of those impacted states and territories," Mr Long said.

The Queensland Premier’s decisions impact more than just Queensland and we need a more collaborative and constructive approach.

“The Queensland Government and Chief Medical Officer must release the details of the rationale they are basing their decisions on in expanding hot spots so that businesses can understand and prepare. Decisions such as the one taken today destroy the confidence of businesses and tourism reliant communities.”

Mr Long said accommodation contributes $17 billion to the Australian economy and is essential to the Australian tourism sector’s recovery. NSW visitors contribute $4.4 billion to Queensland’s economy each year and ACT $243 million each year, according to Tourism Research Australia and Queensland visitors contribute $3.34 billion to NSW’s economy and $225 million to the ACT’s economy.

 

About The Accommodation Association

The Accommodation Association represents close to 3,500 hotels, over 150,000 rooms and nearly 100,000 employees across Australia. The Accommodation Association represents over 80 percent of all known accommodation providers from small regional parks, caravan parks, serviced apartments and resorts through to the largest hotel groups in the world including Accor, Hilton, Wyndam Destinations and IHG.
(https://www.aaoa.com.au/About-Us/The-Association).

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