Agents know more than most the dire industry flow-on effect of the extended travel ‘pause’. And, too often during the pandemic, the impact on ancillary businesses who serve every sector from cruising and tour operations to airlines and hotels, has also been overlooked.
Pre-COVID, when cruising in Queensland was on a record growth trajectory, family-run Kangaroo Bus Lines acquired ten luxury coaches to specifically cater for the cruise market – and then business suddenly dropped by 30 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, Kangaroo Bus Lines CEO, Darren Webster, is one of many industry voices backing calls for federal and state governments to engage with each other and agree to a pathway for domestic cruising to resume.
While the catch-cry has been ‘we are all in this together’, Darren says there has been little recognition of tourism-connected businesses that are haemorrhaging money at an alarming rate each day.
“We are part of the tourism supply chain too. We bring thousands of cruise visitors into Brisbane on our coaches and they spend money adding to the local economy.”
Kangaroo Bus Lines is a family-run business, with four successive generations of Websters since 1978 when Stan Webster moved from Victoria to Queensland and bought the Caboolture-based company when it had just six buses.
Now with a fleet of more than 135 buses, Darren says up to 30 coaches a day were devoted to a Brisbane call by a cruise liner before cruising stopped.
“The buses did a mixture of shore excursions to places such as Australia Zoo and other attractions in Brisbane and its immediate surrounds, through to shuttle bus services getting guests from the port into the CBD and back again. Obviously, the larger the cruise liner, the more buses required on the day.
“We invested heavily in capital to support cruise operations and even though the ships are no longer here, the capital still is and our tourism business is down about 30 per cent without cruising.
“Over a two to three year term, we bought 10 coaches, at $550,000 a throw, roughly. It was a substantial investment and included a couple of custom-built stepless vehicles to cater for the elderly and people with disabilities.
“And there was also the investment in ground staff and training to make them seamlessly part of the cruise line brand.”
Darren agrees that it will take months for any cruise ships to return, but says engagement with the industry is needed now to provide the tourism sector with some certainty.
Sture Myrmell, President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, said Kangaroo Bus Lines was one of many business operators around Australia, small and large, for whom cruising is an opportunity that supports local economies and jobs.
“Businesses benefit from the economic activity generated by cruising but the flow has now been cut off for more than a year with no indication of when the tap might be turned on again,” Mr Myrmell said.
“This loss of business opportunity for so many underlines why it is so important for federal and state governments to engage and agree on a pathway for the resumption of domestic cruising limited to Australian guests on ships calling at Australian ports.”
IMAGE: Kangaroo Bus Lines CEO, Darren Webster
