Tourism has rebounded after a disruptive, challenging year, the ACT Government said yesterday. Canberra Business Chamber CEO Graham Catt agreed that the past few weeks have been positive for the local visitor economy, but he believes staff shortages are reaching crisis point, and that the government may need to intervene.
The latest figures show that Canberra accommodation is now 73% full, which Mr Catt said was due to sitting weeks in Federal Parliament and the Federal Budget, and leisure travel.
He said Canberraโs visitor economy relies on both tourism and business travel.
โThe positive accommodation results for April are great news, but business travel has been slow to return. Many national and multinational corporations are only just returning to the office and cautiously permitting staff to travel and attend events. Getting people back to the office, back to meetings, and back to business events is critical for our visitor economy.โ
Regional travel and tourism across Australia had grown since the pandemic. โCanberra is a short flight or drive away from both major capitals and regional centres; it offers unique cultural attractions, great dining and accommodation options, and a growing variety of visitor experiences,โ Mr Catt said.
To encourage tourism, the ACT Government has supported more than 100 tourism businesses and invested more than $3 million through the COVID-Safe Tourism Co-Investment Program (funding products and infrastructure) and the Tourism Co-operative Marketing Fund (marketing campaigns that increase awareness of the ACT as a leisure destination).
Mr Catt said he had heard from more and more tourism operators who were doing well or were at least well on the road to recovery. But many small businesses still struggled.
โThey are looking to the ACT Government to provide business assistance in addition to the very welcome marketing initiatives.โ
The tourism and hospitality sectors faced a new challenge, Mr Catt said: not enough workers.
โIn every discussion [the Chamber had] with business, they tell us about the growing shortage of both skilled and unskilled staff. We hear from hotels who canโt run at capacity because they canโt clean rooms, clubs who canโt find chefs, and cafรฉs who canโt find baristas.
โThe biggest concern for many is that the skills and labour shortages weโre seeing in the ACT will reach crisis levels as a result of the prolonged international border closure and decreased labour mobility.
โCanberra businesses will be looking to the ACT Government for support in the upcoming Budget.โ
An ACT Government spokesperson said that as part of the 2021-22 Budget, the Government was considering ongoing targeted assistance for sectors recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the spokesperson continued:
โAs we have nearly reached full employment in the ACT, filling job vacancies will become more difficult, and certain industries will face skills shortages. Businesses will have to adjust to this economic reality. They will have to invest in training and offer more generous employment conditions to attract and retain staff.โ
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