IN FOCUS
BLUE MOUNTAINS EXPLORER CLOSES
ICONIC BLUE MOUNTAINS BUS-TOURISM COMPANY CLOSES One of the longest-running tourism businesses in one of Australia’s most iconic tourist destinations – the internationally recognised Blue Mountains Explorer Bus fleet in the NSW Blue Mountains – has closed indefinitely, the latest bus business victim of the ‘pandemic’.
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red double decker hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus has already been sold, with another five on the market, the company confirms. The fleet is not sustainable without international visitors and domestic tour and coach company Fantastic Aussie Tours (FAT), which owns them, cannot afford to maintain the fleet without 24
government help, it explains. FAT managing director Jason Cronshaw said the indefinite closure of Blue Mountains Explorer Bus followed several closures during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019–20 bushfires before that. Cronshaw – who also owned international tour company Christian Fellowship Tours – said the fleet had become untenable.
“While, of course, we’re thankful for the recent NSW government rescue package, it won’t save us,” Cronshaw said. “Without international tourists it’s just not viable. “We’re running a 77-seater bus with one or two people. It costs us $3.50 per kilometre on a 26km circuit and tickets are $49 for an all-day pass. The maths just doesn’t add up,” he explained.
ABC July 2021 busnews.com.au
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20/07/2021 11:45:30 AM
