Bridestowe weighing future
• Bridestowe’s Robert Ravens considering the estate’s options.
By Tony Scott,
MAY 12, 2021
Reported comments by the Prime Minister about when international borders might reopen have dismayed the operator of the Bridestowe Lavender Estate.
Robert Ravens said the business had been kept intact with the help of government support and dedicated staff.
But the withdrawal of support this month meant some soul searching.
“We look forward to the summer period for some real cash flow to tide us through the rest of the year.
“If borders don’t reopen by November we’ll lose that opportunity.
“The Prime Minister’s comments should frighten everybody who has international visitors as part of or their major focus.
“Keeping the borders shut just takes away any hope of an improvement in general activity and it flows on down then line, particularly through regional communities
“We need to get smarter.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said, the New Zealand travel bubble aside, overseas countries are likely to remain closed to anything like regular services well into 2022.
Mr Ravens said his business would have a cash outflow of $30,000 a month just to remain open through winter.
Jobkeeper had defrayed wages costs by about 60 per cent, but without it Bridestowe would have to consider how it operated.
“Our preferred option is to remain open as a tourist site, but that might become untenable.
“We’ve already drastically reduced staff down to about 12 full time, but we’ll have to look at that again and possibly close the front of house except perhaps for visits by appointment.
“We’re still busy planting and maintaining the lavender as a farming operation, but the tourist side is under consideration.”
He said there may be an opportunity to revamp the operation to engage more closely with smaller numbers of visitors.
He is also reviving plans for accommodation on a neighbouring property acquired in 2019.
A $15 million development was announced two years ago.
But Mr Ravens said Chinese-backing for the project has withdrawn “and won’t be back”.
Instead of 31 luxury visitor units he’s now proposing a scaled back first stage development of 10 free-standing apartments, not requiring foreign investment.
The estate is also looking at changing focus from largely Chinese visitors to South Asia, including the Indian subcontinent Malaysia and Singapore.
“Through the lockdowns local Tasmanians have been really good to and interstaters as well, but we need to address what we might do into the future and that group of internationals is a growth area,” Mr Ravens said.