From the Publisher

Published by Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd, 102 Taiyul Road, North Narrabeen, NSW 2101 (PO Box 478, Collaroy, NSW 2097) AUSTRALIA

ABN 32 092 549 721 Tel: 02 9970 8322 E-mail: leisure@ausleisure.com.au www.ausleisure.com.au Twitter: @AusLeisure Facebook: www.facebook.com/AusLeisure Editor Karen Sweaney Publisher Nigel Benton Design Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd Contributors James Croll and Gwen Luscombe Advertising Inquiries Nigel Benton Tel: 02 9970 8322 Email: nigel@ausleisure.com.au

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The views contained in Australasian Leisure Management are not necessarily those of Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd or the Editor. While every care is taken with advice given, Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd and the Editor can take no responsibility for effects arising therefrom. Views expressed by contributors may be personal and are not necessarily the views of their employers or professional associations.

© Australasian Leisure Management, 2022. ISSN 1446-1374

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Australasian Leisure Management is an Australian product, Australian owned and printed in Australia. Is it too optimistic to think that with a significant part of the population vaccinated, most Coronavirus restrictions eased and borders reopening, that 2022 may mark a return to some sort of normality for this industry and the nation as a whole?

Of course, cases of the Omicron variant remain large in number in the community and restrictions still see live events impacted but there appears to be some confidence in the industry and, above all, opportunities to plan.

We also seem to be in a position to live with Coronavirus in our midst while carrying on with day-to-day activity.

However, among the many challenges facing this industry in 2022 is how consumers will behave in a post-COVID world. Will they return to how they acted prior to 2020 or will lockdowns and restrictions see their behaviour and spending habits changed?

Certainly this industry needs to be prepared to counter the ‘homebody economy’ and satisfy pent-up demand for out-ofhome leisure activities and experiences.

Staff Shortages

Staff shortages in key customer facing roles have continued to impact many parts of the industry during the summer months.

Former casual staff appear to be lost to the industry, with employers facing some real challenges as a result, notwithstanding a range of training opportunities for employees.

And not only are operators unable to fill positions, research from Humanforce shows that, for a variety of reasons, up to one in four staff don’t appear for shifts.

To avoid this recurring, as the economy reopens the industry will increasingly need a motivated and engaged workforce to meet customer demands.

Without offering the right opportunies and conditions, the industry will face a challenging route to full recovery.

Tasmanian School Tragedy

The deaths of six children on a jumping castle at a school in Tasmania before Christmas was unbelievably tragic and all would be deeply saddened by the loss suffered by the childrens’ families and community.

However, their deaths would appear to have been avoidable, which makes me angry that this could have happened.

There have been enough experiences of jumping castles taking flight and enough guidance issued so that something such as this should not happen.

Serious questions need to be asked of the school and whoever managed and provided the inflatable, with those responsible not able to hide behind ignorance, liquidated entities and/or government bailouts.

Paying for our online news

In order to resource the online news that we publish at www. ausleisure.com.au and to develop expanded levels of content in the future, we are transitioning to a user pays arrangement on the website.

As a result, you will need to subscribe to get access to the business news you need on your industry - aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues - from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region, all for less than the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

For organisations (businesses, not-for-profits, government departments, local government, educational bodies and others) that wish to purchase subscriptions for multiple sites/ staff members, ‘bulk’ subscription rates are also available. Nigel Benton, Publisher