Tourism moves to recovery

THE Prime Minister has announced a three-stage re-opening plan and the states are winding back restrictions. It feels like the light is starting to shine back through the cracks this week.

On the weekly Tourism Australia (TA) webinar, BDA research shared findings from their Travel Sentiment Tracker. “While caution exists around future domestic travel for many, 60% are positive about travel and 27% are keen to travel straight away.” One quarter of respondents are also thinking/dreaming about their next holiday but will exercise caution around the way they travel choosing holidays closer to home, being more aware of social distancing and requiring confidence around hygiene practices.

TA is developing exciting campaigns to grow the demand to “holiday here”, a movement commenced after the devastating bushfires earlier the year.

The cruise sector can play a critical role in helping to reinvigorate tourism and supporting the regional economies around Australia. Last year cruise contributed over $163M in ship, crew and passenger spend to our coastal communities.

We know there are still concerns around cruise but we are seeing the bookings return and I believe that once the restrictions have been lifted and we can socially integrate and travel, people will get back out to sea especially with the extensive new onboard health and hygiene measures being explored by cruise lines.