As we rapidly approach the end of another year and the beginning of summer, I know that many of our operators are gearing up for, what we hope will be, a prosperous holiday period.
While I am sure that guests and bookings remain front of mind for many of us, summer unfortunately also heralds severe weather season. As Queensland is no stranger to damaging flooding, storms, and bush fires, I encourage operators across the state to take this time to arm their staff and business against potential damage and loss.
In last month’s newsletter, I spoke of QTIC’s ongoing efforts to tackle the critical insurance concerns that many in our industry are facing. I continue to flag with government representatives and key industry bodies the importance of educating mainstream insurers on risk management and the need to beef up national accreditation programs to improve the insurability of businesses.
While much needs to be done by the insurance market and government bodies to improve the current untenable insurance environment, taking on-the-ground measures to reduce risk can not only save a business, but it can also improve insurance eligibility and reward operators with discounts on premiums.
As we approach severe weather season, QTIC, in partnership with the Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) and EarthCheck, has developed a number of crisis management initiatives to help businesses prepare against damage and loss. Several of these programs are highlighted in this month’s newsletter and I invite you to read and consider adopting some of these initiatives, many of which are free. From accessing a crisis management manual and a disaster resilience online short course to a risk assessment tool that guides businesses through the process of developing a comprehensive risk management plan, we hope this suite of programs will help to reduce the burden of risk, and perhaps the insurance premiums, that tourism businesses often carry.
As we welcome November, we are also gearing up to celebrate industry at tourism’s night of nights – the 38th Queensland Tourism Awards Gala Ceremony. Held this year in Cairns on Friday 24 November, our QTIC team is excited to be heading into region to not only celebrate industry at the gala event, but to also discuss the latest trends and developments unfolding within both First Nations tourism and our wider industry at the Destination IQ conference and DestinationQ Forum. Tickets and registrations for all three November events are still available and if you are yet to secure your place at the Cairns events, I encourage you to do so as hundreds of our industry colleagues will descend on Tropical North Queensland for the week.
I hope to connect with many of you in Cairns and I look forward to sharing the 2023 Queensland Tourism Awards winners with you next month!
Kind regards,
Brett Fraser
QTIC CEO
