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A boost in food tourism has been welcomed as a silver lining for some Far North Queensland businesses as the region continues to rebuild after Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Key points:
- Highway closures have rerouted some tourism in the Far North to the Atherton Tablelands
- The region is a tropical food bowl with many food and agritourism operators
- But the road closures mean that parts of the region are missing out on business
The Atherton Tablelands has seen a spike in visitors diverted inland while the main highway connecting Cairns to Port Douglas remains closed.
But for those businesses not lucky enough to have the alternate route running past them, a dark cloud of lost income during a long recovery hangs over them.
Emerald Creek ice cream maker and shop owner Clare Bees was one of the lucky ones.
Sales doubled at her shop just outside of Mareeba, west of Cairns, in the week after Christmas, providing an unexpected boost when comparing year-on-year.
"That week after Christmas was our best week ever," she said.
"It has been, I'd say, at least a 30 per cent sales increase even [on] the slower weeks."
With tour coaches forced to change their routes when the Captain Cook Highway on the coast was damaged in December, Ms Bees said tourists from Europe, Britain and America were visiting during what was traditionally a quiet period.
"We were like 'Oh my goodness that is actually making so much more of an impact than we could have ever hoped'," she said.
But her co-owner Mike Bees acknowledged that not all tourism operators had not been so lucky.
"We definitely feel for the businesses in the cape, and Port Douglas, the Cairns people and tourists [who] can't easily get to Port Douglas and further north now," he said.
Signs of long-term benefits
While a twist of fate put their business on the map, Ms Bees said there were signs the opportunity would continue once the highway reopened.
"We've had more [businesses] that are starting to start up tour groups to come and explore the Tablelands because they've seen the opportunities there are up here," she said.
American tourist Rita Murphy was visiting the ice creamery and said she had not planned to visit the Tablelands originally due time constraints, but was glad she had seen the region.
"That was not really part of the agenda," she said.
"Isn't that the best part of travel? Not to expect too much, but to be surprised?"
Wins and losses
On the other side of Mareeba at Paddy's Green, Candy MacLaughlin is the general manager at a papaya and coffee farm and cafe.
She said visitor numbers were up 10 per cent, and tour operators had brought their bookings forward by up to four months.
"It doesn't sound like a lot but 10 per cent more people with bums on seats makes a big difference to a destination operation like us," she said.
But while the tourism side of the business is doing well, it has not been not enough to offset the damage to the farm.
Ms MacLaughlin estimated the operation had lost 30 per cent of its papaya trees.
"It would be nice to think that it's balancing it out, [but] the farm is a much bigger component of what we do," she said.
"However, the more that we can inspire people to think about consuming papaya, [it] will allow the farm to grow naturally anyway.
"We've just about been able to replant everything that we lost in the cyclone … [it will be] another six to eight months before we see that back in production."
Ms MacLaughlin said the lesson from the disaster was to diversify and prepare.
"We're going to continue to grow papaya and refocus our energy in coffee, and hopefully have more for our local cafes and suppliers moving forward," she said.
Long road to recovery
To the south at Milla Milla, west of Innisfail, a different highway closure has been causing pain for inland operators.
The Palmerston Highway connects the area to Mission Beach, Mamu Sky Walk and Innisfail on the coast.
Dairy and cafe manager Michelle Bell-Turner said trade was down 20 to 30 per cent.
"We've lost all that traffic [to the cafe]," she said.
Ms Bell-Turner said the loss of the main trucking route had aslo a significant impact on her dairy business.
"We send 100 pallets a week down that highway," she said.
"Our freight costs have gone up by more than $6,000 a month."
She said the Tablelands was dependent on both farming and tourism.
"All the associated businesses, even if they're not in agriculture or tourism, they feel the pinch when those things aren't working well," she said.
"It's really important to have those roads fully functional … they're our lifeblood."
Queensland Transport Minister Bart Melling said earlier this month that the Palmerston Highway would reopen with one lane and traffic control in mid-February.
Mr Melling said the Captain Cook Highway would reopen, also with one lane and traffic control, on January 20.
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