AHA WELCOMES BORDER CERTAINTY WITH LIMITED RESTRICTIONS

The Australian Hotels Association (WA) welcomes the announcement that WA’s borders will reopen on 5 February 2022, delivering certainty for WA’s accommodation hotels and hospitality businesses as they plan for recovery and a return to normality in the year ahead.

AHA(WA) CEO Bradley Woods welcomed the removal of WA’s controlled border and the announcement that very few restrictions will return.

“WA has been remarkably successful in containing the spread of COVID-19 and our hotels, bars, pubs, taverns and restaurants have played a critical role in this success, but they have also been significantly disrupted,” Mr Woods said.

“When WA’s border reopens on 5 February we will do so with high levels of vaccination, removing the need for strict measures that disproportionately impact the hospitality industry, such as capacity restrictions and widespread mask wearing requirements.”

“Hospitality businesses and the business events sector across the state can now put in place plans for the return of visitors and tourists. Guest and traveller bookings can be made with confidence and the year ahead can be approached with a far greater degree of certainty, which is important for the recovery period ahead.”

“There are sensible obligations on interstate and international travellers regarding their vaccination status, which will allow business and leisure visitation to restart and provide much needed support to accommodation hotels who have been severely disrupted by the pandemic.”

“The reopening of the border will help alleviate the dire labour shortages throughout the hospitality industry, while the meetings, conference and events market will welcome the fact that they can plan for the future with a high degree of confidence.”

“We strongly commend the fact that the reopening of WA’s border has not meant the reintroduction of restrictions that disproportionately impact the hospitality industry – this approach will help support tens of thousands of jobs.”

“WA’s hotels and hospitality venues are well prepared for the inevitable arrival of COVID-19 into the community – venues have taken their responsibility to the community seriously over the past two years and this vigilance will only increase when the virus does arrive.”