Tasmania is not in lockdown, but that doesn't mean we aren't being impacted by lockdowns on the mainland.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The latest comments from the Tourism Industry Council that Tasmania's business confidence has been crushed are concerning, but not that surprising.
It's clear by now that the ripple effects of border closures and stay at home orders are far reaching, and incredibly damaging.
By this point in the pandemic we should all recognise, and hopefully understand, why such stringent measures are necessary - particularly in the context of the highly contagious Delta variant.
But it's still a hard pill to swallow. Yes, people's lives are on the line, but so are the livelihoods of thousands of business owners and employees.
Yes, support measures are in place. But as Australia's road out of the pandemic continues to widen with every new twist and turn, the government too must remain flexible in its delivery of relief packages.
An extension of the Commonwealth's COVID-19 Disaster Payment to employees of tourism and hospitality businesses in locations outside the locked-down areas seems like a reasonable request.
And in the meantime, it has never been more important for Tasmanians to do what they often do best - support their local.
The state government's extensions of the Make Yourself at Home travel voucher scheme will no doubt go a long way in providing some much-needed relief and security to Tasmanian operators.
News more than 108,000 Tasmanians have registered to receive a share in the third round of vouchers is encouraging and proof that there is an appetite for intrastate travel.
Considering the last travel voucher scheme generated $30 million of spending in the state, this time around the support could be the difference between a business staying open - or shutting its doors for good.
For many years Tasmania's visitor economy was leading the country and helping to elevate the status of our state to a new high. But now that it's largely grinded to a halt, we have to ensure we don't fall off the cliff.
Cutting Tasmania off from the rest of the mainland has served a great purpose, but the price for the hospitality and tourism sector remains undeniably high.
