Tourist operators who have barely kept themselves afloat after continual floods in south-west Queensland are clinging to hope as they see a slow but steady return of holiday-makers.
Key points:
- The Balonne Shire in south west Queensland has experienced a lack of tourism due to flooded road closures
- A local hotel owner says he has lost 90 per cent of trade this year
- Holiday-makers have begun to make their way back to the region now roads have re-opened
Floodwaters swallowed hundreds of roads in the Balonne shire — more than 500 kilometres west of Brisbane — not once, but four times this year.
It was catastrophic for tourism operators as major access routes were cut off from bush holiday-makers for months.
While caravans are slowly making their way back onto the open roads, small businesses say they are treading water until the next rain potentially wreaks havoc on already damaged highways.
The region’s main industry is agriculture, with cotton, grain, sheep and cattle among the biggest areas. But tourism is also significant.
Dirranbandi Caravan Park owner Nikki Pulfer says the lack of tourism took its toll on business owners.(Supplied: Nikki Pulfer)
Dirranbandi Caravan Park owner Nikki Pulfer is used to a bustling winter tourist season, but this year has been markedly different and it is taking a toll.
“When you see that [RACQ] ad, ‘charter boat, what charter boat?’ Well, tourism, what tourism?’ she said.
“Being a caravan park with nobody being able to come through, we’ve had zero tourists.
“It’s been really challenging, there’s been nothing to do.”
Not only has Ms Pulfer’s income taken a hit, she said the mood of the town had too.
“It’s been really quite flat, mental health is probably at an all-time low,” she said.
“We thought the drought was bad, but with the lack of tourism, it’s really affecting the shops.”
‘Pretty catastrophic’
A 45-minute trip south along the Castlereagh Highway will lead travellers to Frank Deshon’s Hebel Hotel on the Queensland-New South Wales border.
But the highway connecting St George, Dirranbandi and Hebel to New South Wales was closed for almost three months this year.
Frank Deshon owns Hebel’s entire commercial business portfolio.(ABC Southern Queensland: Belinda Sanders)
It is a crucial tourist route but when it shut, Mr Deshon’s business stopped overnight.
“We came out of the border closures from COVID and had about a month of respite and then the first half of this year, all the road closures with the flooding,” he said.
“We lost 90 per cent of our trade, it’s tens of thousands of dollars a week that you miss out on, and you only get one shot at it.
“It was pretty catastrophic to the bottom line.”
While the wet season has passed, locals fear another flood event could be just around the corner.
The Hebel Hotel relied on locals during the period when tourists could not access the area. (ABC Southern Queensland: Belinda Sanders)
Without long-term road repairs, Mr Deshon said the region would be back to square one.
“The weather pattern is still around us and anything can happen,” he said.
“It affects everyone you know. You’ve got to make hay when the sun shines, so to speak.”
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Optimistic winter outlook
Queensland has been the holiday destination of choice for domestic travellers in the year to March, according to recent figures from Tourism Research Australia.
Visitors spent $369 million in the state in March, even without access to the south-west corner, which typically attracts most of its travellers in the cooler months.
Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O’Toole said messaging had to change to show the region was open for business.
Balonne Shire Council mayor Samantha O’Toole says her region is ready to welcome back tourists.(ABC Rural: Jon Daly)
“There’s still a lot of insecurity … there’s still cancellation of forward bookings because people are concerned that it might only take a small amount of water to close those roads in the future,” she said.
“Roads are open, it is safe to travel.
“There’s a lot of optimism about the back end of the season, that we might regain some of the numbers we’ve lost.
“It’s going to have a bit of a lasting impact for us for the next little while.”
Positive turnaround
As the rain eased and holiday-makers gained confidence, south-west Queensland towns have noticed a slow but steady return of tourists.
Ms Pulfer hopes the trend continues.
Tourism operators are hoping for a bumper winter tourist season.(ABC News: Elly Bradfield)
“We’ve seen a lot of caravans travelling in the last 10 days, that’s been fantastic,” she said.
“People are in shock … once it [flooding] is out of the news and out of the front of everybody’s mind, they sort of forget that we’re still soaking wet out here.
“I am absolutely praying that we get a bumper second half of the year.”
