Tourism upswing peeks out of Trade Center wreckage

By GREG ANSLEY

GOLD COAST - The battered Australian tourism industry, hammered by the destruction of the World Trade Center and the collapse of Ansett, is already starting to emerge cautiously from the bunker.

As Qantas and Virgin Blue begins to plug the gaps left by the collapse and Ansett subsidiaries resume some regional services, Australia appears to be picking up some of the business scared away from higher-risk holidays in the United States and Europe.

And more Australians than in years past are expected to holiday at home rather than abroad.

The first hesitant optimism has appeared after a week of crisis meetings and predictions of big job losses, company closures and regional economic chaos.

An Australian Tourism Export Council survey had found that 70 major tourism operators were expecting a $A100 million ($120 million) dive by the end of the year from a predicted 20 per cent fall in business caused by cancellations and fewer forward bookings.

But anecdotal evidence of a possible turnaround emerged on the Gold Coast at the weekend.

The Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort reported bookings from two Australian groups which had cancelled overseas trips, and another operator in north Queensland won business from a Hong Kong conference originally scheduled for Los Angeles in December.

America's huge Outrigger hotel group also told Gold Coast developer Gordon Douglas that the impact of terrorism on its Australian businesses had been negligible, while the chain's occupancy rates in Hawaii had gone from around 80 per cent to 40 per cent.

Queensland Tourism Minister Merri Rose said the Government was still getting mixed messages, but early signs suggested Australia could benefit from terrorism-inspired fears abroad.

"We would have liked to have had it under different circumstances but I think we will probably see that we could benefit because we are a safe destination," she said.

Analyst Alan Midwood said the worst crisis had been the 1989 pilots' strike, which slashed growth by 11 per cent over nine months.

But while the strike had cut all services to the region, the Ansett collapse had cut flights by only 40 per cent - and 66 per cent of the Gold Coast's domestic tourists could drive to the resort city.

Full coverage: Terror in America

Pictures: Day 1 | Day 2 | Brooklyn Bridge live webcam

Video

The fatal flights

Emergency telephone numbers:

United Airlines: 0168 1800 932 8555

American Airlines: 0168 1800 245 0999

NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 0800 872 111

US Embassy in Wellington (recorded info): 04 472 2068

Victims and survivors

How to donate to firefighters' fund

See also: