Since the initial disruption from COVID-19, Australia’s production industry is experiencing an increase in international production, due to an increase in the Australian Government’s Location Incentive grant and Australia’s management of limiting the spread of the pandemic. With this influx of production there are some changes to how the TAG team manage travel and house productions in Australia.

The establishment of accommodation ‘bubbles’ has meant production in a COVID-19 environment has been possible – particularly in Queensland.

TAG has worked closely with a range of production companies and hotel chains to establish these bubbles.  Following in the footsteps of Australian sports codes relocating to Queensland, a growing number of productions have undertaken a complete ‘buy out’ of hotels for their talent and crew to ensure the ongoing safety of the entire production.

In doing so, they create a strictly controlled environment which mitigates the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and any potential spread from crew that may have travelled interstate. 

Setting up a ‘production bubble’ is not as simple as locking the door as Tricia Cornelius, Accor Regional Director of Sales & Marketing Queensland & Northern Territory can attest.

Over the past months, Tricia and her team have moved through a complex set of assessments and applications to ensure they have properties compliant for production lockdown use. These include a number of properties near the Gold Coast production hub such as the Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach, Novotel Surfers Paradise and Mercure Gold Coast Resort.

“Dealing with COVID-19 has completely transformed the way we do business, the experience we provide our guests. We will work differently than we have ever worked before and it will never be the same.”

Tricia Cornelius, Accor Regional Director of Sales & Marketing Queensland & Northern Territory

Tricia explains that to be able to offer production bubbles, Accor has had to develop protocols to meet the requirements of various Government Departments, alongside accreditation agency Veritas and both state and federal police services. 

“It has been incredibly detailed, right down to having to think about how we manage paper documents in rooms, or shampoo bottles we would normally provide in rooms,” she says.

Other protocols include the service of food, in-house staff activities, and providing systems to ensure crew can travel to set or elsewhere and return to the hotel without ‘breaking the bubble’.

TAG’s Head of Film and Production travel, Alli Pratt, added the company has relationships with a host of hotel chains that had undertaken this important work, like Accor.

“At TAG we provide support that enables productions to keep moving ahead, but in a COVID-19 safe environment. Production has gained even more momentum in Queensland and we are committed to supporting the industry Australia-wide, get it functioning to full capacity, in the most responsible and safest way possible.”

Allí Pratt, Head of Film and Production, TAG

Find out more about travel and accommodation in the ‘bubble’ with the travel experts at TAG:

Contact the TAG team today about your production 
[email protected]