THE partial reopening of the South Australian borders has been welcomed by Millicent Lakeside Caravan Park manager Derek Sparkes.
Earlier this week, Premier Steven Marshall announced residents of Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory could enter South Australia without the need to selfisolate for a fortnight.
Mr Sparkes said the easing of the COVID-19 restriction was unlikely to have an immediate impact on the Park Terrace business.
“We get most of our interstate guests from the eastern states,” Mr Sparkes said.
“However, it will be good to see travellers again from WA.
“They usually make up about 15pc of our guests.
“They tend to stay here with us in Millicent and then head off along the Great Ocean Road.”
The occupancy levels at the Millicent Lakeside Caravan Park have fallen over the past three months owing to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Due to the downturn, the business was able to qualify for the Federal Government JobKeeper support for one of its employees.
There were mass cancellations at Easter after the three-day Geocache convention was postponed.
Mr Sparkes said there was a chance the Geocache event could be rescheduled.
“We have refunded all the booking deposits in recent months as we felt the COVID-19 virus is nobody’s fault,” he said.
“It is not as if people have just had a change of heart about their travel plans.
“Our park is currently at about 10pc occupancy and this is better than at the same time as last year.
“People are tending to travel within SA.
“We also have people at the park who are bunkering down in Millicent and avoiding the capital cities.”
Mr Sparkes and his family have also operated the adjacent Lakeside Café for the past five years.
He said the sales of homedelivered takeaway food had been strong through the COVID-19 period.
As part of the COVID-19 protocols in public places, certain hygiene measures are in force at the Lakeside café and caravan park.
Mr Marshall said the new border arrangements were in effect from midnight on Tuesday.
“The borders of Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory remain closed to all interstate travellers at this stage, meaning South Australians travelling to those states are still required to quarantine,” he said.
“We are continuing to review the restrictions and do not want to keep our borders closed for one day longer than we have to.
“Rest assured the health and safety of South Australians remains our priority.”
