kabarsula ‘People are leaving’: Tropical North Queensland tourism leaders feeling impact of visa changes bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Tourism leaders in Tropical North Queensland have sounded the alarm over proposed changes to working holiday visas, warning workers are already leaving the region and businesses could struggle to service visitors during peak periods.

The warnings come as new Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) research reveals tourism operators across the state fear they will be forced to cut opening hours, turn away bookings or even close if access to working holidaymakers is reduced.

Speaking on an industry media call on 29 September, Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) CEO Mark Olsen said more than 5,000 working holidaymakers work across hospitality, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and other industries in the region during peak periods.

“These changes are already seeing people pack their bags and leave Tropical North Queensland,” Olsen said.

“This is one of our peak tourism seasons, and we’ve got staff who are leaving the region.”

Olsen said working holidaymakers did more than fill vacancies, bringing language, employment and career skills to businesses struggling with workforce shortages.

“They are an essential part of delivering this economy’s foundations in tourism, in ag, in manufacturing,” he said.

TTNQ is calling on the Federal Government to reconsider the proposed ballot system, which Olsen said was creating “an enormous amount of uncertainty” for regional businesses.

Hotels fear return to capacity caps

Crystalbrook Collection CEO Geoff York told the media call the changes could have a significant impact on the accommodation sector.

Working holidaymakers make up as much as 45 per cent of the workforce across Crystalbrook’s three Cairns hotels during high season, York said, and around 30 per cent of the group’s workforce nationally.

While York said Crystalbrook had maintained a focus on employing locals since opening its Cairns properties, working holidaymakers continued to make up a significant proportion of applicants and often arrived with experience gained overseas.

He warned reduced access to those workers could leave hotels unable to service recovering international visitor demand.

“I am very concerned that we won’t be able to support that demand,” York said.

York pointed to the workforce shortages experienced in the wake of COVID-19, when Crystalbrook was forced to restrict the amount of business its properties could accept.

“We had to cap accommodation, how many rooms we could sell, how many people we could put in restaurants, because we literally didn’t have the staff or the team members to service that demand,” he said.

“I’m fearful that we go through this again.”

York called for the second and third-year ballot proposal to be scrapped and for the Federal Government to return to discussions with the accommodation industry.

‘You can’t roster a summer season on a lottery’

The concerns have been backed by fresh data released by QTIC on 6 October after surveying 38 tourism businesses across 11 Queensland regions between 24 September and 5 October.

Every respondent that had advertised for local workers in the past year said the response fell short, according to QTIC, with almost nine in 10 receiving very few local applicants or none.

Four in five respondents said they would cut trading hours or days, or close, while more than four in five said they would scale back, delay or cancel planned investment.

Two-thirds expected revenue to fall by more than 10 per cent, while working holidaymakers represented more than half of the peak-season workforce for two in five respondents.

Together, the businesses surveyed employed more than 800 working holidaymakers over the past year.

“These businesses advertised to locals first. They used job boards, community pages and recruitment agencies. The applicants simply weren’t there,” QTIC CEO Natassia Wheeler said.

“In Cooktown, on K’gari or out west, there is no local workforce waiting to be hired. If these workers don’t come, the doors don’t open.

“You can’t roster a summer season on a lottery. Operators need to know who will be working for them this Christmas, and right now they don’t.”

The impact could ultimately be felt by holidaymakers themselves

Drop Bear Adventures CEO Hana Robinson told QTIC few Australians wanted entry-level housekeeping and hosting jobs on K’gari, warning that without working holidaymakers, guests could be asked to make their own beds and help cook dinner.

Cairns Aquarium CEO Daniel Leipnik said his business “could not run our restaurant and functions and events business” without working holidaymakers.

“This isn’t a choice between locals and backpackers,” Wheeler said.

“Operators want to hire locally, and they do. Working holidaymakers fill the gap that’s left, especially in the regions.”

What is changing?

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on 17 September that second and third-year working holiday visas would move to a ballot system.

Applicants will still need to complete the existing regional work requirements to qualify for the ballot. Second-year places will be limited to 45,000, compared with 57,000 people who qualified last year, while third-year places will be limited to 5,000, compared with 31,000 last year.

Announcing the changes, Burke said the ballot was designed to give the Government greater control and certainty over migration numbers, telling the National Press Club that “not everybody will get through”.

QTIC is calling for the ballot to be removed and for working holidaymakers already in Australia, including those part-way through their regional work, to be allowed to apply for subsequent visas under the rules that applied when they arrived.

“We’re not asking for an unlimited program,” Wheeler said.

“We’re asking the Government to look at what’s happening on the ground before it changes the rules.”