Come back, the worst is over, urge Gippsland tourism operators
In an attempt to get the tourism tills ringing again a report in The Age this morning says that Gippsland tourism operators say that they are open for business.
With floodwaters receding, and not expected to rise again despite forecasts of more rain, tourism operators are urging holidaymakers to come back to the stricken region.
The Gippsland Tourism Response and Recovery Group met yesterday to take stock of the damage. Convener Chris Buckingham said initial reports showed the Gippsland Lakes, the Licola district of the Alpine National Park and Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort had been hardest hit by last week’s torrential rain and the resulting floods.
“There are also operators beginning to feel the pinch along the Princes Highway as traffic to the Gippsland Lakes was severely constricted,” he said.
“Thankfully the road is now open from Melbourne right through to the NSW border. We now need to let people know that most parts of Gippsland are open for business and that they are welcome to return.”
Businesses around the Gippsland Lakes are reopening, Mr Buckingham said, sandbags lining waterfront streets the only reminder of the devastation.
Gippsland was already suffering from southern Australia’s long-running drought when last summer’s bushfires burnt out huge tracts of eastern Victoria. Now, floodwaters have ravaged a region just getting back on its feet.
But, Mr Buckingham said, the tourism industry would bounce back. “There is a quiet sense of determination and resilience as operators deal with the latest challenge issued by Mother Nature.”
Some of the first visitors to the region will be the state’s leaders, with the state cabinet announcing yesterday it would meet in Gippsland next Monday and Tuesday.
Floodwaters have receded across Gippsland, though minor flood warnings remain in place for the Macalister and Thomson rivers. About 13,000 megalitres of water is still flowing from Glenmaggie Dam every day, nearly twice the minor flood level of 7500 megalitres. And much of the coastal village of Paynesville, south-east of Bairnsdale, remains under water. Up to 30 homes in the town have been flooded, and waters are not expected to recede for a number of days.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast scattered showers across Gippsland with isolated thunderstorms, hail, thunder and snow on the higher ranges for today and tomorrow.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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