by Mat Churchill


First it was flooding, now it's cyclones that are posing a threat to Queensland tourism. It seems that the industry can't take a trick at the moment.

So what now for local tourism?

Doug Ryan, executive officer of Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree (TPDD), said tourism bodies across the State are working overtime in an attempt to minimise the negative impact these events are having on an already struggling industry.

"The adverse marketing down south, which happens every year, didn't help us again," Mr Ryan said.

"Everyday I've been part of a group which has got together and we've discussed what the issues are and what's going on with the industry. . . .That was pre-the cyclone, and we were sending out information on what the updates were from that group.

"Now post cyclone, once communications get back up we'll be looking at a whole new ball game. I've been talking with TQ (Tourism Queensland) and TTNQ (Tourism Tropical North Queensland) on a regular basis daily about where we'll be going from here. There's a little bit more planning involved now. We're going to have to look at other ways of raising funding to get that impact into our markets.

"If this (the cyclone) had occurred during peak period it would have been devastating for us. It's still going to be bad."

Mr Ryan said that the domestic market will be an issue for the tourism industry as Victoria deals with its own flood crisis.

From an international perspective, Mr Ryan said that TPDD will use tools such as media interviews and videos, along with social media to help ensure accurate information is available to prospective visitors.

"Just straight after the Oprah stuff went to air over in the States I was talking to our reps over there and they were saying the wholesalers were having a big spike in bookings, which is really good. We've just got to make sure we don't get cancellations out of that. It's a matter of reinforcing to the marketplace that we're still operating."

Cancellations are already having an impact on TPDD members according to Mr Ryan.

"We've had feedback from members on a number of cancellations. It's interesting that the cancellations are for February and March which is the image of the cyclone season. That's something we've got to overcome.

"The ongoing bookings from then on are not too bad and there is still a flow on in bookings into the season," he said.

Mr Ryan said that there is a heavy reliance on larger tourism bodies such as TTNQ, TQ, and TA (Tourism Australia) to "spend the big bucks" to get information out to travellers.

"There has been a disaster strategy in place for quite some time both through TTNQ and ourselves. But because of our size we don't have the ability to get out into the marketplace in the bulk that it needs. This is the big issue that we have.

"Getting the message out there in the most effective way for us is through the press. This weekend we've got six media up here."

Mr Ryan said that the Chicago Tribune will be one of these major media outlets who he will be trying to convince that the region is still a prime tourist destination for US travellers.