Tourism and hospitality operators in northern Australia are calling for a greater federal focus on the region's unique challenges, amid "major staff shortages" and burnout across the industry.
Industry leaders, unions and the federal government will next week gather in Canberra for the Albanese government's jobs summit, with worker shortages high on the agenda.
In the Northern Territory, many venues are lacking the workforce to keep up with what Tourism Central Australia has described as "unprecedented demand".
Labour shortages have even led to some hotels and accommodation providers placing caps on guest numbers staying at any one time, taking the shine off a busy tourist season.
Region's 'unique circumstances' make attracting staff more difficult
Alongside the lifting of migration caps, Tourism Central Australia's chief executive, Danial Rochford, said there needed to be a greater focus on training and support to encourage people into the workforce, including Indigenous Australians.
"There's no doubt we need support in regional Australia and areas such as encouraging retirees to work, to look at migration and encouraging people to come to regional Australia," he said.
"To encourage our existing population to look at skills and training to take on new roles within the workforce ... and also to work with our Indigenous population to be able to provide greater training and support."
While it's no secret job shortages are affecting businesses across Australia, operators in the Northern Territory say the region's unique seasonal circumstances make it even more difficult to attract long-term staff, particularly among backpackers from overseas.
Gertrude Knight, who co-owns the Darwin restaurant, Moorish, described the city's busy streets through the tourism high season as a "double-edged sword".
"Everyone's loving Darwin, we're loving the fact they're loving it," she said.
"But the downside of that is that we have major staff shortages. So even in a day when we have enough staff, there is still that constant pressure that if someone gets sick, then we're really in trouble.
"We're asking so much more of our staff, and that then leads to people deciding that they don't want to work in hospitality anymore, that they want to pursue something that is less stressful."
Many operators face challenges in the summer months, when Alice Springs experiences stifling heat and Darwin is battered by its wet season.
Ms Knight said she hoped next week's job summit would alleviate "some of that fear of the wet season" among seasonal workers.
Perks used to bring in workers
Tourism venues in the pristine Kakadu National Park have gone to extraordinary lengths to attract and keep workers, throwing in free food and accommodation.
Cerys James-Sitters, who hails from New Zealand, said the perks had enticed her and many others to take up work within the world-famous national park.
"This season, unlike other seasons, they made their food and accommodation free and I think that enticed a lot of travellers to come and work, because you spend absolutely no money and you just spend everything," she said
"But even with that, I think they're still short staffed, still calling out for people to come, across all departments as well.
"I think a lot of it is really high turnover rates, lots of people coming in, especially internationals getting their 88 days and then heading off again. "
Mr Rochford from Tourism Central Australia said businesses in the red centre were struggling to find workers, but expressed hope that more overseas arrivals could help plug gaps in the territory's workforce.
"That's why we call upon the government at next week's jobs summit to really look hard at some serious issues [including] to increase the cap on overseas skilled and low-skilled migrants," he said.
Mr Rochford said Tourism Central Australia had been urging both the NT government and federal representatives to put the issues of the region before the summit.
"That's something we're very keen to represent our members' interests on," he said.
