"It is clear that the tourism industry is being gravely (affected)," Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said. Source: The Australian
THE tourism industry has been put on an official red alert as the cost of Qantas's grounding hit an estimated $80 million for the weekend.
And the damage bill from continued paralysis could hit $150 million a day.
A meeting of tourism chiefs triggered a red alert for the first time.
Government tourism organisations will increase their efforts to help travellers stranded at home and overseas.
"It is clear that the tourism industry is being gravely (affected)," Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said.
John Lee, the head of the Transport and Tourism Forum, said that until the weekend, the impact of the Qantas dispute on the tourism and hospitality industries had been limited to about $40 million.
But now there were fears for tens of thousands of jobs in tourism and hospitality as domestic and international holiday travel plans were cancelled en masse.
First to feel the impact would be the 60,000 interstate and international visitors to the Spring Carnival.
Last year's Melbourne Cup Carnival generated $160 million for the Victorian economy. More than half of visitors flew in on Qantas.
Other major events that could be affected include the Presidents Cup golf - which could generate upwards of $30 million - from November 14-20; musical Love Never Dies at the Regent Theatre; and the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.
"There're no winners in this. We need Qantas to fly," Mr Lee said.
Mr Lee also expressed deep fears about the damage to Australia's reputation overseas if the dispute continued, not just among tourists but also among potential investors.
"There will be bigger questions about the reliability of our economy, and of productivity, if we can't get this resolved quickly," he said.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry also warned of direct and indirect costs of hundreds of millions of dollars if Qantas did not get back in the skies.
"Thousands of businesses have no control over this dispute but they will be dragged to the forefront of it. Public interest considerations are paramount," said CEO Peter Anderson.
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