As clean-up efforts continue in Far North Queensland following this week’s flooding disaster, tourism operators have called on visitors to keep their bookings.
Key points:
- Most operators are back up and running in Cairns and Port Douglas
- Disaster tourists are urged not to get in the way of clean-up efforts
- Some areas remain off limits to visitors and several roads are still closed
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said about 85 per cent of visitor experiences were still operating, and about 4,500 tourists were already in the area.
He said Mission Beach and the Cassowary Coast were good to go.
“Blue skies, absolutely gorgeous, and the national parks are opening today and tomorrow,” Mr Olsen said.
He said visitors to the city of Cairns were welcome, as well as those travelling to the northern beaches, including Palm Cove and Trinity Beach.
Power is slowly being restored to the Tablelands region, which can be accessed via the Gilles Highway and the Kuranda Range Road, as the Palmerston Highway remains closed.
The Sky Rail is operating again, but the Kuranda Railway will not get up and running until the new year.
“[Seeing] Barren Falls at the moment from the sky rail is absolutely epic, just one of the most beautiful things to see,” Mr Olsen said.
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Port Douglas open for business
The inland road to Port Douglas is set to open on Friday, while the Reef Fleet — boats connecting Cairns to Port Douglas — are operating twice a day.
Local restaurant owner Astrid Cancrini said she hoped tourists would return as soon as possible because Christmas was the last major business opportunity before the wet season.
“We need people to come back and spend some money here so they can support the community and we can keep going,” she said.
Queensland’s new Minister for Tourism and Member for Cairns Michael Healy said booking a holiday in the region over the coming weeks would help the community’s recovery.
“We have some of the best assets up here in the world and we would love to see people coming back,” he said.
What remains off-limits?
Mr Olsen said roads to Ellis Beach and up to Hartley’s wildlife sanctuary were still closed.
He said Cooktown was still in the middle of its recovery response so that remained a no-go zone.
“This is not normally peak season for visitation, so we don’t have a huge number of visitors up there, but those communities are going to need a lot of support,” Mr Olsen said.
Access to the Daintree is also limited — while the Daintree Ferry is open, the road to Cape Tribulation is closed.
“It could be a week or so before we’ve got real timelines that we can share and those businesses are probably just trying to come to terms with the situation,” Mr Olsen said.
He said tourism, which employed one in five people in the region, was the driving force of the economy, but refunds were available for those not comfortable making the trip north.
Mr Olsen said all tourism operators had refund terms and conditions in place, and some airlines were offering refunds.
Reef tours back on the water
Steve Edmondson runs Sailaway Reef and Island Tours with his family from Port Douglas.
Mr Edmondson said they resumed tours on Wednesday.
“We have momentum to build and some bookings in place but obviously it’s a bit harder that usual, yet those who are making the effort are finding it really enjoyable and rewarding,” he said.
He encouraged visitors to “do their homework” and contact operators directly.
“Just don’t panic and check the information. It’s changing rapidly … there’s no reason not to come at this stage,” Mr Edmondson said.
“You just have to do a little bit more homework. It might take a little bit longer than you originally thought to connect these places and itinerary.”
Mr Edmondson said tourism was the lifeblood of Far North Queensland.
“The reef is beautiful at this time of the year because the wind has died right down so you get some really beautiful experiences,” he said.
Stickybeakers urged to stay away
Cairns Regional Council Mayor Terry James said authorities needed to concentrate on people that had been negatively affected by flooding and not “disaster tourists”.
“People running around wanting to have a look, unfortunately they get in the way,” he said.
“They end up driving into areas and getting themselves caught, cars bogged or damaged, and then someone has to go rescue them.”
Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said police were managing to keep stickybeaks away.
“If people want to go in there and help the community, put on a pair of work boots, put on a pair of gloves and roll up the sleeves,” he said.
“The last thing these devastated communities need is tourists driving around having a look and not supporting them.”