Daylesford Wine Tours asks why tour operators have been forgotten

Daylesford Wine Tours asks why tour operators have been forgotten?

Cancellations are thick yet support is thinner than ever.

Daylesford, 7th June, 2021: As a huge integral part of the Daylesford tourism sector, Daylesford Wine Tours has been professionally delivering clients visiting the region to wineries, Cidery, distillery, sights, dining and accommodation venues for the past 10 years. But, with the latest round of lockdowns and cancellations, owner/operator Clayton Watson questions why tour operators around regional Victoria have been completely forgotten, are not being reimbursed for cancellations and why tours in vehicles specifically are being classed as a restricted service?

“We have seen 100% of our bookings cancelled over the busiest month of our peak season. The tours division regionally has been completely overlooked - once again - by the Victorian Government. There’s a huge grey area within our sector where our core operators are forced to call each other to actually find out what we are and aren’t allowed to do. Currently, we are informed “The two square metre density rule is not mandatory on tour vehicles. There are no group limits for tour transport, however physical distancing of 1.5 metres between groups is encouraged where possible.” Whereas, “Tourism services by vehicles - closed“ is the real information required. As with the last lockdown, operating - even with all Covid rules & regulations adhered to - felt like we were breaking the law because we weren’t 100% sure if we were in the right. Even calling VTIC daily was a waste of time as they didn’t even know themselves!”

As well as the grey area, in the last rounds of lockdowns all cancellations through accommodation venues were reimbursed whereas “we were completely forgotten”. “Every sector seemed to be covered very well by the Victorian Government but the tour operators. This isn’t haven’t a whinge. This is my wife and I’s

FOR RELEASE 10 A.M. 7TH JUNE, 2021.

DAYLESFORD WINE TOURS ASKS WHY? PAGE 2

livelihood that feeds my two children and we’ve simply been pushed to a very slow back-burner. It’s not bloody good enough. The small people just get trod over. We’ve got no International, no Interstate, no Melbourne and now no regional visitors allowed to tour with us.”

“We have no idea what this Queen’s birthday weekend - our busiest weekend of the year - will hold. The slow trickle of information the tour operators receive will probably mean we find out we could have operated this weekend in a months time. Who knows. It’s seems strange to us that places of worship can hold up to 50 people inside at a 4 square meter rule and we can’t even have a big bus with the same square meterage rule delivering clients to an outside tasting area at cellar doors. Doesn’t everyone have to enter through the same door to a church or a bus in exactly the same manner?”

“We absolutely smashed our intensive Covid cleaning of our buses - adding some 2 to 3 hours of work everyday - as well as our cellar door partners. We really upped the ante on strict guidelines, QR’s, temperature checks, tracing lists etc. much to the demise and exorbitant costs added to our small profit margin and overheads. The fact that the regional $200 vouchers were for accommodation and tours shows how integral tour operators are - why not back it up with swift information and reimbursement for our cancellations on an equal plane?”

Clay is well known as an Australian actor for his roles in the Matrix franchise, playing Ian Chappell and winning an AFI for his role in Always Greener. His upcoming role in Dwayne Johnson’s “Young Rock” saw him receive numerous Covid tests to shoot in Queensland but says the film sector is covered very well by State and Federal Governments. “It’s a huge difference and drastically tangible compared to what we see with the touring sector. It’s a well oiled machine and points to how much monetary gain the government looks at on a list of first come fist served. The hierarchy is plain to see.”

With the future unknown and information forthcoming even more unknown, Clay along with his counterparts in the Yarra, Mornington and further afield to the Barossa and Hunter Valleys chat constantly and wait on a baited line. “We’re spending our time watching news headlines, updates on VTIC and Vic Gov websites, calling as many people as we can get ahold of with the so-called right information, detailing buses and updating uniforms and cellar door partners - it just seems we need someone to step up and fight for us pronto!”

This week will be a make or break for many of the tour operators around the regions in Victoria. “We urge the Victorian government to do the right thing and reimburse us and allow us to operate instead of being looked at like a big grey ball of “I don’t know about them”. The time has come and gone already numerous times - let us do our job and deliver customers professionally and safely as per usual.”