Shocking blow for tourism. Wedding venues reeling

Getting on with business with an eye to the future ... Flaxton Gardens owners Alan & Mariana Thompson are concerned for everyone in tourism and hospitality who face a long road back.

It’s a scenario being played out across the hinterland. Popular, thriving  businesses impacted by an event out of everyone’s control.  

Hinterland tourism and hospitality, particularly, have taken major body blows. At the same time as having to adjust their services to deal with restrictions, they’re trying to plan for a future when the shutdown is lifted.

Alan and Mariana Thompson of Flaxton Gardens saw their high-end, award-winning venue shut down overnight when the pandemic was declared. 

“I’m a positive person, but this has been a shocking blow ... for locals, for the industry, for tourism in general,” Mr Thompson said.

“You’d be silly to deny it. The wedding industry has just been closed overnight.  And the knock-on effect will last for a long time.

“But despite all this we are getting bookings for the future,” he said. “And we’re so grateful to the local support. Support for our FG@Home meals will get us to the other side.

“We fully understand why the closure was necessary, and I think the government has done an incredible job of containing the virus,” he said. “But no business can plan for this type of thing. While accepting what’s happened, it’s quite shocking for all of us.  

“We haven’t had a single wedding since the restrictions. On average we do three weddings a week. Even if they postpone, you lose the opportunity to resell the day they transfer to.”

Mr Thompson said there was no doubt economic recovery would be a hard grind, once restrictions were relaxed.

“Once we get through this initial period, we’re still going to have to pay back all the bills we have due, and all the bills that have been deferred. And everyone’s in the same boat, so what happens to everyone down the line if money’s tight?” 

Despite everything, the couple has been buoyed by the “incredible support” of the Range community. Flaxton Gardens’ new FG@Home takeaway service, which they launched in just two days when they couldn’t host weddings, has helped maintain activity and boost morale.

“We’re not going to make a lot of money out of this,” Mr Thompson said. “But we wanted to be a support to the community and we’re getting a lot of people saying ‘it saves me time, it tastes better and it’s a lot more cost effective than buying the ingredients’. People are being very supportive.”