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Speaker 1: Well, last we saw yesterday those international borders reopened right

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Speaker 1: around Australia and indeed here in the Northern Territory. I

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Speaker 1: think plenty of us saw the images on nine News

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Speaker 1: last night and plenty of other places with those people

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Speaker 1: arriving on those international flights. About one hundred and eighty

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Speaker 1: we were told yesterday on each of those flights that

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Speaker 1: arrived in Darwin, so two flights seem to be lots

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Speaker 1: of grandparents ready to reunite with their grandchildren, which was lovely.

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Speaker 1: But how's it looking when it comes to that youth

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Speaker 1: marketsh our backpacker is heading back into Australia and into

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Well, joining me on the line right

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Speaker 1: now as a marketing manager of the youth Shack Backpackers,

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Speaker 1: deb turn out. Good morning Debbie, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 2: How are you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Really well, lovely to have you on the show,

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Speaker 1: and well good to see those international borders reopen yesterday,

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Speaker 1: was nash, it was what's it mean for you guys?

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Speaker 2: Well, it's a big slow. When I think everyone around

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Speaker 2: Astray you understands it's not going to happen overnight, and

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Speaker 2: you know the competition's even tougher now after COVID. Let's

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Speaker 2: face that the whole world needs staff. We just have

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Speaker 2: to be out there marketing and doing the best we can.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no doubt about that. We're talking to Glenn

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Speaker 1: Hingley just a bit earlier this morning and he was

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Speaker 1: going through that research that they've commissioned into exactly what

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Speaker 1: tourism does for the economy in terms of employment and

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Speaker 1: the visitation and you know, money coming into the Northern

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Speaker 1: territory and there's no doubt that tourism has a massive

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Speaker 1: impact in so many positive ways. But Debla, like you've said,

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Speaker 1: it's going to take a while until we sort of

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Speaker 1: see things bounce back, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: It will be. We are in a campaign with Tourism

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Speaker 2: and TEE at the moment trying to get backpack us

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Speaker 2: up here a little bit earlier, and we've got competitions

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Speaker 2: happening right through the dry season. We've got cold Clock

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Speaker 2: tickets to give away. We're working with employers to try

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Speaker 2: and get them the right backpackers for the role.

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Speaker 1: Yep.

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Speaker 2: We just have to hope that down South gets an

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Speaker 2: early winter, and I think this year will be a

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Speaker 2: little bit different as well, because they do change every year.

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Speaker 2: Last year they came up fairly cashed up because they

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Speaker 2: were down south and they were in lockdown. A lot

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Speaker 2: of them still continued to work but couldn't spend their money. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: Plus we had the COVID Center taking so many backpackers on,

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Speaker 2: whereas that sort of dialed down this year. So and

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Speaker 2: you know they've been down in Melbourne and Sydney spending

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Speaker 2: their money yep. So hopefully by the time they get

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Speaker 2: back up here April May they come back broke in

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Speaker 2: they're desperate to work. Yeah, that's what we really need.

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Speaker 2: That's what we're hoping for.

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Speaker 1: Good point dev now tell us as well for a

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Speaker 1: lot of our listeners. You know, people will be thinking,

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Speaker 1: have we even had it any backpackers in town for

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Speaker 1: the last sort of six months or so? What has

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Speaker 1: it been like when you talk about that backpack of market.

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Speaker 2: For you guys, it has been quiet, but then you know,

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Speaker 2: the wet seasons traditionally quiet. I think everyone forgets because

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Speaker 2: during COVID we did do better than we've done free COVID, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: because we weren't in lockdown, and we've forgotten what that site.

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Speaker 2: Because the backpacker sector did start declining drastically over the

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Speaker 2: last five years. As you remember, we have any cats

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Speaker 2: before COVID, so during COVID we did well. But I

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Speaker 2: think now we'll go back to our normal seasons and

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Speaker 2: the wedding is quiet. That's the time when you know

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Speaker 2: we're repainting and reserving everything, getting it ready, yep. And

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Speaker 2: we just have to really all work together as much

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Speaker 2: as we can and do our marketing internationally interstates and

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Speaker 2: do what we can and have our products up to

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Speaker 2: scrab Yeah.

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Speaker 1: And like you said, you know some of that is

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Speaker 1: already happening, working with the territory government at the moment

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Speaker 1: to try and make sure you get in early to

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Speaker 1: entice some of those backpackers to the territory. When are

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Speaker 1: you hoping that they do all sort of start to arrive.

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Speaker 2: We have been talking to a few of ours that

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Speaker 2: stay last year that are coming back in perse at

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Speaker 2: Melbourne and Sydney. Let's say about forty percent of them

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Speaker 2: are looking at actually April, which is fairly early for us,

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Speaker 2: which is great, and the rest around between May and

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Speaker 2: June and Debbie, do you.

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Speaker 1: Reckon if anyone really anticipated what a loss it would

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Speaker 1: be for us here in the Northern Territory not having

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Speaker 1: you know, not having that backpacker market in terms of

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Speaker 1: them also filling jobs around the place.

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Speaker 2: I think because there's quite a negative attitude, not with

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Speaker 2: everyone that I'm generalizing, but with these new locals about

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Speaker 2: the backpackers. I think people really felt it where we

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Speaker 2: ready to that first and second lockdown and no one

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Speaker 2: could get start, you know, and then we opened up

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Speaker 2: and local kids. I've said it for the last twenty years,

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Speaker 2: they are not interested in most jurism jobs to work

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Speaker 2: in a hostel or tourism sector, tour companies, and they

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Speaker 2: don't have to because there's always an abundance of jobs

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Speaker 2: in Darwas, So you know, when even the restaurants struggle,

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Speaker 2: I think I'm hoping that a lot of attitudes will

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Speaker 2: be changed because they realized we do need these backpackers

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Speaker 2: and how much they spend. They carry the whole of

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Speaker 2: the street, not just you know, the hostel. They're the

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Speaker 2: one spending money absolutely everywhere. And I even read I

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Speaker 2: read an article by the government itself the other day

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Speaker 2: with all their data and the different sectors and how

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Speaker 2: much more the youth sector brings into any other. And

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Speaker 2: yet the federal government with their marketing budgel, we always

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Speaker 2: get the leased and that just doesn't add up in

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Speaker 2: my head. I just don't understand it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, And so Debbie, I know that last year,

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Speaker 1: that Carl Cox concert, it seemed to how it brought

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Speaker 1: every backpack from around Australia to the Northern Territory. You

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Speaker 1: said before that there's a bit of marketing to try

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Speaker 1: and to try and coincide the Carl Cox concert again

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Speaker 1: this year with bringing people back again. Is that right?

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Speaker 2: Yes, Look, I think it'll work in our favor a

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Speaker 2: little bit, but we have to realize everyone's been open

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Speaker 2: this year and he's had in Melbourne, he's playing in Sydney.

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Speaker 2: Last year, all the stars aligned for Guy Done and

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Speaker 2: it was amazing. It was amazing for us and it

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Speaker 2: did kick in the season a lot earlier yep, and

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Speaker 2: it was great. But I still think it's a great

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Speaker 2: draw card. And we have seen our bookings go up

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Speaker 2: for Carl Cox and based in the grass yep. And

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Speaker 2: now this campaign will involved in with tourism and tea

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Speaker 2: that'll be fantastic as well. And job chats open again

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Speaker 2: thank god it's been closed for two years. So we're

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Speaker 2: in a lot of campaigns overseas with all our international

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Speaker 2: agents again too already we started doing all that last

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Speaker 2: month before the border is open, once we knew they

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Speaker 2: were opening. So you know, we've just got a lot

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Speaker 2: of hard work ahead.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, and I know that you guys work

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Speaker 1: so hard in there. Like you said, over the years,

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Speaker 1: we've spoken on so many occasions about the you know,

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Speaker 1: about the ebbing and flowing. I suppose you'd say of

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Speaker 1: that youth market. So I really hope that you know

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Speaker 1: that we see that backpack of market thrive again.

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Speaker 2: We'll let you know by July.

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Speaker 1: Katie, good on you dev lovely to talk to you

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Speaker 1: this morning. Thank you so much for your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you see