Tasmania’s tourism businesses struggle through summer as borders remain uncertain

It is harvest time at Bridestowe Lavender Estate in Tasmania’s north-east.

The purple fragrant buds usually draw in tourists from all around the world, all eager to pose for a photo in one of the largest lavender farms in the Southern Hemisphere.

But this year, things are very different.

With Australia’s borders shut, there are no international visitors, meaning numbers through the fields are the lowest they have been in 10 years.

It is disappointing, but…