Aussie "Sunshine State" faces rocky road to recovery of tourism industry

SYDNEY, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Australian state of Queensland, aptly dubbed the "Sunshine State" for its warm weather and idyllic beaches, faces a rocky road to the recovery of its tourism industry, said a researcher from the University of Queensland (UQ).

According to the latest data from Tourism and Events Queensland, the state's tourism industry, which had previously provided employment for nearly one in 10 of the state's workers, was cut in half in the year ending in March 2021.

The report, released on Thursday, laid out the major challenges facing Queensland's tourism industry in the wake of COVID-19 and proposed ways to address them.

UQ associate professor Richard Robinson who led the research said that beyond attracting tourists as the state gradually opens its domestic and international borders, filling the jobs required to service the demand would present a difficult but crucial step.

"Tourism operators are really struggling to get workers in their regions due to the uncertainty of domestic and international border closures," he said.

Robinson conducted consultations with tourism operators across five major regions of Queensland, and the key concerns that came up in the consultations were mostly around job security, financial hardship, wellbeing and skilled labor shortages.

A representative from travel agency Entrada Travel Group, Hans Ullrich, said the industry cannot rely on a liquid workforce due to the high number of specialized jobs that would need to be quickly filled once borders reopen.

"If lockdowns end suddenly and visitors return, we will struggle to quickly fill these specialized roles that are critical to ensuring our businesses can operate."

Ullrich said it has been "nearly impossible" to retain workers under current conditions, as companies experience fluctuating demand brought on by lockdowns across the country and struggle to maintain morale among workers.

His concern reflected the larger trend uncovered in Robinson's report which showed that both employers and employees rated job security as the biggest impact of the pandemic.

The report laid out a multi-pronged approach to address these issues which involved both government policy and new practices from tourism services providers. This included employee training programs to attract and train talent while also driving demand through the easing of lockdowns and assistance to vital industries, such as the airline industry.

He also proposed that businesses would need to be prepared to support employees with greater work-life balance and "empathetic leadership."