Speed up jabs or get left behind in travel

TOURISM boss Jamie Pherous has warned Australia’s recovery will lag behind the UK and the US if the local vaccine rollout does not pick up pace.

His company Corporate Travel Management (CTM) returned to profitability last month and expects positive results for the fourth quarter.

“This will be led by the United Kingdom and Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand’s regions of the business,” said Mr Pherous, CTM’s founder and CEO.

Mr Pherous (pictured) said that now that both the US and UK markets were well ad vanced in their vaccination programs, travel restrictions were on the verge of being relaxed. “This will allow businesses in these regions to gain a competitive advantage on the rest of the world in economic trade and recovery, and we expect that recovery to accelerate further by June/July based on the majority of all adults being vaccinated.”

Mr. Pherous warned that there was a real risk that Australian and New Zealand companies could get left behind in the global recovery if we cannot participate and compete with the rest of the world. He called for borders to remain open to maintain economic momentum and the vaccination rollout to be the government’s priority with a sense of urgency to vaccinate the entire population over the age of 50.

“The government must establish and clearly communicate a framework for reopening international trade including clear metrics, benchmarks and timelines. This will enable corporate Australia to plan with confidence.”

CTM’s March break-even result followed the company’s $2.8m loss in January and a $4.9m loss for the third quarter. The standout region was New Zealand, with corporate bookings as of last week trading at levels above 160 per cent of CTM’s 2019 financial year booking levels.

CTM said the US was experiencing positive signs of recovery and despite the British and European lockdowns, CTM had negotiated significant essential travel client wins. “These regions have the most advanced vaccination rollouts and are on track for all people over 18 years of age to be vaccinated by northern hemisphere summer (June/ July),” the company said.

Meanwhile, leisure and corporate travel operator Helloworld said in a market update it expected to return to positive earnings in the December quarter on the basis that borders remain open, the trans-Tasman travel bubble remains open and other limited international bubbles open up in the second half.

However, it expects to book a loss of up to $3m in the September quarter before turning the corner by December. Helloworld shares fell 2.4 per cent to $2.02 on Wednesday, while CTM rallied 2.5 per cent to $19.70.