Tourists flock to the Grampians post COVID-19 lockdown, but businesses can’t find staff to serve them

Damon Henricksen opened his Grampians restaurant before the COVID-19 pandemic — three months before to be exact — but last week was the busiest it has ever been.

It has made having to close up twice this week all the harder to stomach.

Mr Henricksen is one of several businesses in Halls Gap and the Wimmera without sufficient staff to keep their doors open as often as they would like.

It is not a new issue to the Grampians but one that now threatens the region’s recovery from COVID-19 lockdowns and its growth as a destination.

According to the latest credit card data from the NAB, Melburnians eager to escape the city after the abolition of the ‘ring of steel’ dividing them from the rest of the state are splashing record…