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Speaker 1: Let's talk about these hot spots and the impact that

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Speaker 1: the COVID hotspots are having on some of our tourism

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Speaker 1: operators here in the territory. And joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line right now is Kakadoo Tourism spokesperson Peter Hook. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Peter, Good morning, Good morning, Peter.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time today. I know

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Speaker 1: that I know the COVID hot spots. It's a difficult

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Speaker 1: one for everybody at the moment and we're all sort

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Speaker 1: of on tender hooks at different times, even New South

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Speaker 1: Wales at the moment. We're keeping a very close eye

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Speaker 1: on that situation. But Melbourne's COVID nineteen outbreak, by the

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Speaker 1: look of it, had a massive impact on you guys.

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Speaker 2: It certainly didn't. In fact, I was in Kakadoo at

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Speaker 2: the time of the closure of borders to Melbourne and

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Speaker 2: on that day we lost twenty thousand dollars a Quinto lodge,

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Speaker 2: you know, a fairly small operation, twenty thousand dollars in

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Speaker 2: a day, and the reality is uncertain to breed this

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Speaker 2: concern for most travelers like you. We're watching the Sydney

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Speaker 2: incident quite closely because with the school holidays coming up.

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Speaker 2: Everybody wants to be certain. And unfortunately it's actually quite

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Speaker 2: strange because really we were very concerned with having to

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Speaker 2: tell people there is no room at the inn until September,

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Speaker 2: but now there is one. You know, there's been one

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Speaker 2: bad side, but then some good side for the locals.

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Speaker 1: Anyway, how difficult is it then, you know, when you're

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Speaker 1: managing and when you're trying to operate, you know, I've

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Speaker 1: well those locations and those wonderful, wonderful hotels like Cowinda Lodge,

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Speaker 1: and you're ending up in a situation where you're having

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Speaker 1: to then or you're seeing all of those bookings canceled.

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Speaker 2: Well, Look, one of the biggest areas of concern is

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Speaker 2: the groups. You know, there are a lot of groups

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Speaker 2: with you know, in many cases elderly people, and they

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Speaker 2: get nervous and obviously most people haven't been vaccinated completely yet,

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Speaker 2: so therefore, if there is any concern like that, they

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Speaker 2: will pull out in a day's notice. And you know,

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Speaker 2: we really do have to respect that. It means a

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Speaker 2: big hit to our bottom line. But look, we're getting

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Speaker 2: used to it. In fact, I think I thirty one

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Speaker 2: time before you know about this time last year we

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Speaker 2: were envisaging closing the whole of our operations that in

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Speaker 2: Kagado over the wet season, and it was because it

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Speaker 2: was that depressing. Things then improved quite considerably, and in

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Speaker 2: fact we've had the best wet season probably for over

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Speaker 2: a decade, and we were looking for probably the best

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Speaker 2: ever dry season in living memory. So you know, we've

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Speaker 2: gone up very high, but we're sort of quite used

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Speaker 2: to trying to sort of recapture what lost ground is

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Speaker 2: happening at almost every day.

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Speaker 1: So Peter, what happens then? You know, if you have

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Speaker 1: those you know, like a high volume of cancelations like that,

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Speaker 1: what happens to those rooms? Then just go back online

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Speaker 1: to sell and hope that locals or somebody else are

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Speaker 1: book scene exactly.

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Speaker 2: When in fact that's the whole point. We did a

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Speaker 2: really about a week ago we were looking at a

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Speaker 2: message of you know, no rooms till September. Over the

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Speaker 2: last week because of the situation with Melbourne and now Sydney,

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Speaker 2: we're looking at occupancies, you know, losing about ten to

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Speaker 2: twenty percent, especially in the next two weeks. Next two

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Speaker 2: weeks which traditionally being school holiday periods down from the

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Speaker 2: new South Wales and Victoria would be full. It does

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Speaker 2: mean that we're looking very much at the territory market.

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Speaker 2: We've had great support from Darwin and Catherine and places

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Speaker 2: like that, and we are looking to at least tell

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Speaker 2: people there is room now get in there before it

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Speaker 2: does fill up. July is still looking very strong, but

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Speaker 2: those particularly love camping and who can basically put a

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Speaker 2: tent and a few things in the back of the ute,

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Speaker 2: there is plenty of room down at Quinda and you know,

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Speaker 2: probably at the crop. While at the moment at the

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Speaker 2: crop we're looking at sort of about ninety percent throughout July.

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Speaker 2: We just don't know. Yeah, I think that, you know,

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Speaker 2: the big message is that if you really want to

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Speaker 2: get to Kakadu, look online. There is availability and you know,

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Speaker 2: unfortunately the Southern States loss is possibly the territory's game.

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Speaker 1: Well, we can hardly hope, so I can't we I mean,

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Speaker 1: not that we want to take advantage of that too much,

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Speaker 1: but I know that, you know, we have had some

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Speaker 1: difficult years, so if we're able to have a really

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Speaker 1: great year, it would be wonderful for everybody, you know,

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Speaker 1: for everybody that works out there, for all of us

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Speaker 1: as territories because the flow through to the economy is enormous.

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Speaker 1: It is.

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Speaker 2: Look, it has been quite extraordinaricating, it really has, because

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Speaker 2: really we were so sort of depressed about things a

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Speaker 2: year ago. Then things became fantastic. Then we couldn't get

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Speaker 2: enough staff to actually look after all the guests. And

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Speaker 2: by the way, if anyone listening wants a good job

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Speaker 2: down in Kakadho, we've got plenty of great jobs. Come

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Speaker 2: and apply. But you know it is out of really

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Speaker 2: a very desperate situation has improved dramatically. And I think

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Speaker 2: you know it's been that case of everybody wanting or

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Speaker 2: saying that kacka who's on the bucket list. We've kicked

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Speaker 2: most people kick Kackadho off the bucket list now. But

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Speaker 2: you know, when I was down there, I was swimming

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Speaker 2: in the mcgook rock pool and I thought, you know,

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Speaker 2: can I get any better than this? It is quite remarkable.

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Speaker 2: And what we're hoping is that for all the territorians

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Speaker 2: who've been down there, they will tell their friends and

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Speaker 2: people who said, OK, I'll do it sometimes they'll do

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Speaker 2: it now. So out of this despair, it's some good.

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Speaker 2: But yes, we'd love that whole situation in the Southern

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Speaker 2: States to get better.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Peter, just tell us very quickly in terms of

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Speaker 1: the workforce shortage. It's something that's being felt all around

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory at the moment, but has been quite

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Speaker 1: a tough situation for you in Kakadoo.

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Speaker 2: Oh look at it was. Because the thing is that,

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Speaker 2: you know, when you have a backpack of population traveling

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Speaker 2: around Australia, people will come down and they think, well

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Speaker 2: three months, that's fantastic, we'll do it. But obviously we

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Speaker 2: haven't had much of that. So we're getting Australians from

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Speaker 2: the Southern States to some extent people from Darwin. But

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Speaker 2: you can't just switch it on. It's not even I

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Speaker 2: mean not even like Darwin where you do have a

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Speaker 2: population around there. You can't just say, oh, well we've

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Speaker 2: got a full restaurant, call up people because ye're there.

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Speaker 2: So Kuindra has done an incredible job attracting a really

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Speaker 2: good starting I saw so many fantastic young Osiys and

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Speaker 2: that really is very very positive. Young Olsies have come

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Speaker 2: up to the Northern Territory for a gap year almost

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Speaker 2: say well, look we're not going oversea. He's not going

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Speaker 2: to work over there to come to the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: And I'm just hoping that out of this that instead

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Speaker 2: of relying on backpackers, instead of relying on people just

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Speaker 2: coming in, that it will become a regular part of

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Speaker 2: that gap year or you know, student or young person's

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Speaker 2: desire to see Australia, earn some money and see something

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Speaker 2: quite incredible.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, CAGAD Tourism spokesperson Peter Hawk great to speak

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Speaker 1: with you this morning. Thank you so very much for

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Speaker 1: your time. Thanks, thank you you too,