Can a $100 Incentive Aid Businesses Struggling Due to Algae Blooms?

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As dead marine life continues to wash up on South Australian beaches, the state’s opposition has called for a lifeline for the floundering tourism industry. With climate disasters starting to wreak havoc on Australia’s holiday destinations, will tourism need a helping hand?

The explosion of algae in the waters off the South Australian coast started with an unseasonably warm summer and a marine heatwave that pushed average temperatures up to 2.5C in many areas.

This created an inviting environment for Karenia mikimotoi — an algae species that discolours ocean water and produces thick blankets of foam — to thrive.

First identified in March, a mass of the algae stretched out to more than 4,400 square kilometres — nearing the size of Kangaroo Island — creating a toxic bloom that has killed tens of thousands of specimens from hundreds of different marine species.

While not toxic to humans, the algae damages the gills and gill structures of marine life, asphyxiating them in the water.

Ecologists have attributed the unusual severity and duration of this algal bloom to climate change, with many calling on it to be recognised as a national disaster.

For weeks, images of lifeless fish, dolphins, rays and sharks on sandy beaches have appeared on news websites and social media pages.

On Tuesday, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young posted footage on Instagram of the mangled body of a seal washed up on a beach, with a caption that read: “Our ocean is sick. Our wildlife is dying. Our economy and tourism is being crippled. Our local community is in shock.”

Tourism industry left reeling

Those working in the tourism industry in the region say they’ve been left reeling by the algal bloom crisis and there have been mass cancellations of bookings across the region.

South Australian Opposition tourism spokesperson Penny Pratt told SBS News she’s been having conversations with tourism operators working from Robe, about 330km east of Adelaide, to the Coorong wetlands, about 130km east of Adelaide.

“Their messages are the same — they’re devastated, the fish are dead, the ocean is dying and they have been desperate for many, many months to get the attention of government to understand not just the environmental impact but the economic one,” she said.

To try to boost tourism to the region, Pratt has called for the South Australian government to relaunch the Great State Vouchers, which were distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic by the previous government to encourage visitors to the state.

Pratt says the vouchers have been “proven and practical” and would incentivise South Australian households to spend their money reinvigorating the state’s coastal communities.

In October 2020, around 50,000 Great State Vouchers were snapped up within an hour in what the South Australian Tourism Commission’s chief executive described as a “shot in the arm” for the tourism sector.

South Australia’s peak tourism body says hundreds of businesses have been impacted by the algal bloom. Source: AAP / Brad Martin/PR IMAGE

“We’ve seen as an investment [on a $100 voucher] families spending up to four or five hundred dollars in regions as they pull into the servo, they visit the bakeries, they book into a caravan park and they explore a new region,” Pratt said.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas recently announced a $14 million support package, matched by the federal government, that includes offering $10,000 grants for small businesses that can prove they have experienced a 30 per cent decline in turnover as well as financial counselling, mental health support and workforce advice.

While the tourism industry has welcomed the support, South Australia’s peak tourism body says hundreds of businesses have been impacted and they’re concerned about the ramifications of the algal bloom dragging out to later in the year.

“What we’re seeing in tourism right now is significant cancellations of people undertaking trips to our coastal areas for spring and summer,” Shaun de Bruyn from Tourism Industry Council South Australia said.

The climate threat to tourism

Australia has a large, sprawling tourism industry that currently employs around 655,000 people — mostly across regional areas.

But its facing mounting challenges as climate disasters and other issues related to a warming planet increase in frequency.

In a report co-authored by economic consulting firm Mandala and financial services company Zurich and published in September, managing partner of Mandala Amit Singh wrote that we are “already seeing the impact of climate change on tourism”.

“We’ve seen tourist attractions destroyed by bushfires, tourist sites made inaccessible by floods, man-made attractions damaged by hail, airports closed because of extreme winds,” he said.

The report assessed 178 tourism sites, including airports, across Australia and found that more than half were vulnerable to climate risks and severe impacts over the next 25 years.

Dr Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, a senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of South Australia, told SBS News climate disasters are starting to accelerate as the world passes temperature “tipping points” in global warming and tourism is vulnerable to these disasters.

South Australia’s algal bloom crisis continues to kill marine life. An Adelaide academic says tourism vouchers are a “great idea” to encourage visitors to South Australia despite its environmental challenges. Source: AAP / Matt Turner

“We’re seeing things like flooding and droughts and now the algal bloom here in South Australia … But you know, also COVID, scientists say that pandemics will be increased by climate change. So, I think we’re only just waking up to the multitude of crises we’re likely to face,” she said.

Higgins-Desbiolles, who says she relies heavily on ocean swimming for well-being, says she has experienced the respiratory agitation and sickness the algal bloom is causing in some people exposed to the algae through swimming or walking on the beach.

“It’s bad, it’s really, really bad,” she said.

“It’s having a really negative impact on community.”

Governments stepping in to save tourism

Governments have stepped in to help areas recover by subsiding tourism following climate-related disasters in recent years.

In 2023, the Western Australian government announced a $6 million Tourism Flood Recovery Package to support tourism businesses hit by what was described as the state’s worst-ever floods.

Heavy rainfall across the Kimberley region led to flooding that smashed bridges apart, swamped communities, and caused the Fitzroy River to swell to record heights.

The package focused on providing around 18,000 discounted airfares from Perth to drive tourists to the region.

Following deadly storms that drenched south-east Queensland in December 2023, causing flash flooding and leaving tens of thousands without power, the state government released 50,000 vouchers worth $50 each as part of a $2.5 million scheme to boost tourism in the area.

Voucher holders were able to spend the money on an experience on the Gold Coast, including the major theme parks.

Higgins-Desbiolles said tourism vouchers are a “great idea” not only to encourage visitors to South Australia despite environmental challenges but also because they can encourage a feeling of solidarity with communities hit by climate-related issues.

She says that following the Black Summer bushfires of 2019 through 2020, which decimated vast swathes of Kangaroo Island, there was a movement in the community to visit the island and put money back into the local economy.

“I really like that. I think in the future we are going to need that spirit of solidarity with each other,” she said.

Hanson-Young told SBS News she believes “all options should be on the table to provide support to tourism operators and local businesses doing it tough”.

However, she believes governments also need to start stepping up climate action to mitigate these disasters in the future.

“Unless we start taking climate action seriously, we can expect to see more disruptions to businesses, including tourism, from future climate disasters and extreme weather.”