GLIMMMER OF HOPE
►Australian tourismsector sees slow sign so fr eco veryt
With the Australia-New quarantin Zealand e-free travel start within bubble to hope has been weeks, a brought glimmer gling tourism to of sector. Australia’s As one strugof the worst- the COVID- 19 hit sectors ism gross pandemic during , domestic Australia’s percent to product tourA$49.6 (GDP) the financial billion fell 18.9 year ($37.9 billion) 2020, the from July 2019 in lowest level to June year 2013- 14. since the country’s Tourism’s financial GDP contributi percent. fell from on to the 3.1 percent “They to 2.5 were the first measures to be introduced impacted by response to by governme the last to COVID, and nts in recover,” will be among Hotel Market Deloitte’s Outlook 2021 Tourism and said Huge shock The biggest national impact came travel from the interthe s. Statistics Australian restriction that Bureau of from internatio Statistics nal arrivals showed in February 2021 witnessed pared an 18.5 percent to the previous decrease compercent decrease month and a 98.4 sponding compared month to the correonly 8.5 of the previous percent of year, and arriving on all arrivals temporary were those “Our sector, other visas. on internatio which relies nal travel. almost entirely in February slammed last year. Nine businesse to a shut out of 10 travel s have been cline in revenue surviving of 90 on a deand most percent businesse since then least a 70 s have percent decline,” experience d at Federation said Tom of Travel Agents Australian Manwarin g. (AFTA) Chair As the Australian to extend border governme three nt decided months lockdowns to June, for another placed on hope the domestic for revival “We need travel was to get market. domes-ticspending pumping primed and again,” said spokesper a son from Australian the Trade and Investmen t Com-m ission. The spokesper -sontold Xinhua in a written inter-vi ew that before COVID-19, domestic tourism made up approxima 77 tely percent, or A$107 billion, of tourism spending.
Turn T to domestic market
To encourage people to travel, the Australian government put forward a A$1.2 billion support package.
Travelers could get access to 800,000 h half-price flight tickets to 13 tourism-reliant re regions, subsidized by the government as p part of the package.
Some local governments, including th the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, also gave out vouchers to encourag age residents to spend more in local busin nesses.
However, analysts expressed cautious o optimism about how much the domestic tr travel market could offset the losses from th the international market.
Associate professor of the University of Queensland Gabby Walters told Xinhua th that the domestic market will help, but won’t entirely offset the losses, given that domestic travelers tend not to spend as much money
as international travelers. Possible border closures or restrictions triggered by the pandemic also make people reluctant to travel too far.
Just before the Easter holiday, a locally transmitted COVID-19 cluster forced a regional music festival in Byron Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, to be cancelled at the last minute.
CEO of Live Performance Australia Evelyn Richardson told national broadcaster ABC that the e festival had sustained a “A$10 million loss” from m the cancellation.
Another heavy blow came from the end of Jobkeeper Program, a wage age subsidy scheme that helped ped the tourism industry retain ain skilled and experienced staff during these difficult times. mes.
AFTA recently put out t research claiming that withithout a JobKeeper extension n beyond March 28, eight in 10 people working in the travel avel and tourism sector will be e out of a job and 30 percent ent of businesses will be forced d to close, according to the Australian Financial Review. w.
NSW Tourism Industry A survey by the 42 percent of NSW Council found that to would be forced tourism businesses while 53 percent reduce staff numbers, whenJobKeeper was reduced staff hours withdrawn.
Uncertain recovery
of there is evidence Deloitte said that sector domestic travel recovery for the while quarter of 2021, through the first is not expected to international travel until coronavirus levels recover to near pre- sometime in 2023. recovery for Austra“The post-COVID of facdepend on a range lian tourism will and global economic tors, including local government responses conditions, ongoing restrichealth crisis, travel to managing the behavconfidence and tions and consumer Deloitte Labine-Romain, ior,” said Adele partner and Deloitte Access Economics leader. national tourism of Australians are Before the majority levels of countries vaccinated to similar much there may not be around the world, said. change, Walters the exact to put a date on “It’s really hard of tourism] because time [ for the recovery single Things change every nobody knows. think said, adding, “I day,” the scholar as posto travel as much people just need they buy local. Even if sible, be in local, and tour, get online can’t get to a particular sell that they normally buy some product to overseas tourists.”