One industry, one voice

1000 Mile Travel Group is calling for “one industry, one voice”, in an open letter penned by Managing Director Ben Ross and Executive Director Nicola Veltman.

Addressed to Member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the letter seeks the commitment of the Australian Government to a plan for the travel industry.

“Ideally, we need commitment of a financial support system from our government post JobKeeper,” the letter reads.

“We need an established timeline of opening up the market so that we can realistically understand when our business can recover, we won’t have to be dependent on government stimulus or support and we can give our employees a muchneeded positive outlook on our industry.”

Emphasising the strain, anxiety and emotional distress the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the industry, the letter also details the gap between the spend of Australians travelling domestically when compared to international tourists.

“We understand the huge importance of inbound tourism for Australia & we are promoting domestic tourism in any way we can, however the reality is the limitations of operating a sustainable business with limited domestic product and to a domestic audience is not viable.

“In 2019 an international tourist spent on average $5,211 per trip in Australia.

“Australians holidaying in Australia won’t be spending anywhere near that figure, especially when consumer confidence is at an all-time low.

“The phrases ‘some time’ and ‘a long way off’ aren’t what is considered a fair or established timeline.”

The letter goes on to highlight the issue of the refund chain tying up tourism dollars, which could potentially be spent sooner.

Pictured: Ross and Veltman with politician Lisa Chesters.

Read the letter HERE.