Toxic algal bloom causes tourism downturn in South Australian coastal communities

ABC NEWS (Australia)

After a cold winter, a warm Spring is often a welcome time for towns which rely heavily on tourism. But for regional south Australian coastal communities hit hard by an ongoing algal bloom there's concern over what should be a busy period. The sharp downturn in tourism has reverberated across the Gulf St Vincent with fears annual visitors won't be coming back.

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00:00Heli Easter-Smith runs holiday rentals on South Australia's York Peninsula.

00:07Many of them sit along the coastlines, ravaged by toxic algae.

00:11While winters are usually quieter, as the weather warms up, the impact of the bloom is front of mind.

00:17That does concern me that we'll potentially lose those visitors that have been coming here for years and years and years.

00:23But if they don't come this year, there's a worry they might never return.

00:27If people start going elsewhere, are they going to come back when the crabs and the fish do come back?

00:33For Ardrossan's news agency, foot traffic has dropped about 20% over winter.

00:3820% down over our peak season is a lot to be down and that may be more than 20% down.

00:44It may be 50% down if the caravan parks and the holiday houses aren't being used.

00:50It's going to be more than 20% down.

00:52The state government has released travel vouchers to encourage people to visit communities like this.

00:58Members of the public can enter a ballot to receive one of 20,000 vouchers.

01:04The travel period will begin on September 24 and the vouchers can be used for coastal experiences and accommodation.

01:11Those enduring the ongoing impacts want people to know how important it is to keep backing their communities.

01:18Colleen Klusky has installed a sign to remind people of just that.

01:22We're hoping that it will jog people's memories and that just to continue to support the Yorks because we do need it.

01:28A message being echoed in coastal towns across South Australia.

01:31A message being echoed in coastal coast.

01:36We all jard our date on October 24, October 24.

01:40Stance is rosary within the00 of old 2021.

01:44Localgreens.

01:46And if we don't have health and additional principles, we can cover up ourения so that our

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