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Peak industry body, The Accommodation Association today issued a plea for Government at all levels to please start consulting with industry before imposing border closures and travel restrictions.Today’s announcement by the Queensland Government that it is cancelling Schoolies, which is in almost three months time, is yet another example of a missed opportunity to get the balance right between protecting lives and protecting jobs.

The issue is with the lack of consultation to find the best possible outcome and implementation. Our sector is not alone in asking for more consultation and clarity from government and input into finding solutions that work. We desperately need State and Territory Governments to act now and establish a Taskforce with industry to better manage the impact of their COVID decision making.

Key stats:

  • Peak industry body, the Accommodation Association represents close to 3,500 hotels, over 150,000 rooms and nearly 100,000 employees across Australia
  • Accommodation contributes $17 billion to the Australian economy and is essential to the Australian tourism sector’s recovery 

Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long is available for interview. Quotes below:
“It is absolutely critical that we get the balance right between protecting lives and protecting jobs and our ask is a simple one – Dear Government, can we please have some consultation?”

“We need all Governments, State, Territory and Federal to release their decision making framework so that we can better prepare and protect the accommodation sector and we need to be consulted especially on decisions with long lead times such as the Schoolies decision in Queensland so that the decisions Governments are making incorporate the reality of businesses’ operational needs.”

“Of course the immediate priority of Government is keeping people safe and protecting lives. We get that but we do need a far more practical and collaborative approach when it comes to the decision-making that impacts businesses, business owners and the people we employ. We need be working far more closely together to better plan for and manage future events, and mass gatherings that drive overnight stays and the solution is a taskforce.”