A survey by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) showed that 55 per cent of tourism businesses in Australia will not survive till September without some kind of government support, while international borders remain closed.
Against that bleak outlook for 2021, the ATEC is calling on the federal government to provide further financial support to the tourism industry, specifically, the export tourism businesses which are unable to operate at anywhere near their previous levels.
One year into the pandemic, and Australian tourism business are running on empty
“Tourism businesses were optimistic that by now international borders would be open and they would be seeing visitors return, but all indications are that these businesses face yet another tough year,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.
“State and territory governments need to provide certainty in the way they respond to Covid outbreaks and a clear path to reopening international travel that appropriately manages the health risk and effective rollout of vaccines in order to give our industry certainty into the future.”
While 75 per cent of export tourism businesses have been able to supplement some of their revenue with domestic visitors, this spend represents less than 20 per cent of income from overseas visitors, according to the ATEC’s industry ‘Pulse Check’ taken in January.
With borders closed and export tourism businesses unable to access their international markets, around 60 per cent are running at less than half of their staff and service capacity, with most only surviving with the support of the JobKeeper supplement.
“Australian tourism businesses have hung on with the support of JobKeeper but face annihilation once the programme ends next month if the government fails to provide further support,” Shelley said.
“Australia’s tourism industry has spent the past 12 months battling enormous setbacks, from bushfires to floods and the Covid crisis which has closed international borders and left tourism businesses with no customers.”
The ‘Pulse Check’, which looked at how Australia’s export tourism businesses have fared over the past 12 months, also revealed that 95 per cent of inbound tour operators (ITOs) – key tourism export intermediaries – have revenue of less than 10 per cent compared to 2019. Some 50 per cent of ITOs are unable to attract domestic business and for those who have, this represents less than 10 per cent of their international market.
Without some kind of government support, some 80 per cent of ITOs will be gone by September, making it much harder for the inbound tourism industry to restart.
Shelley concluded: “Through no fault of their own, successful tourism businesses from across the country have been decimated by a series of setbacks that culminated with the international border closures.
“These are the same businesses which were instrumental in delivering A$45 billion export revenue in 2019 and delivering thousands of jobs to regional communities throughout the country and they will be the ones which will provide future jobs and economic prosperity.
“Given the success of our export tourism industry over the past decade which saw international visitors contributing more than A$350 billion in our economy, we must ensure these businesses survive.
“Once the borders reopen, these businesses will quickly rebound and once again contribute significantly to our export earnings, support regional economies and build back Australian jobs.”
A survey by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) showed that 55 per cent of tourism businesses in Australia will not survive till September without some kind of government support, while international borders remain closed.
Against that bleak outlook for 2021, the ATEC is calling on the federal government to provide further financial support to the tourism industry, specifically, the export tourism businesses which are unable to operate at anywhere near their previous levels.
“Tourism businesses were optimistic that by now international borders would be open and they would be seeing visitors return, but all indications are that these businesses face yet another tough year,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.
“State and territory governments need to provide certainty in the way they respond to Covid outbreaks and a clear path to reopening international travel that appropriately manages the health risk and effective rollout of vaccines in order to give our industry certainty into the future.”
While 75 per cent of export tourism businesses have been able to supplement some of their revenue with domestic visitors, this spend represents less than 20 per cent of income from overseas visitors, according to the ATEC’s industry ‘Pulse Check’ taken in January.
With borders closed and export tourism businesses unable to access their international markets, around 60 per cent are running at less than half of their staff and service capacity, with most only surviving with the support of the JobKeeper supplement.
“Australian tourism businesses have hung on with the support of JobKeeper but face annihilation once the programme ends next month if the government fails to provide further support,” Shelley said.
“Australia’s tourism industry has spent the past 12 months battling enormous setbacks, from bushfires to floods and the Covid crisis which has closed international borders and left tourism businesses with no customers.”
The ‘Pulse Check’, which looked at how Australia’s export tourism businesses have fared over the past 12 months, also revealed that 95 per cent of inbound tour operators (ITOs) – key tourism export intermediaries – have revenue of less than 10 per cent compared to 2019. Some 50 per cent of ITOs are unable to attract domestic business and for those who have, this represents less than 10 per cent of their international market.
Without some kind of government support, some 80 per cent of ITOs will be gone by September, making it much harder for the inbound tourism industry to restart.
Shelley concluded: “Through no fault of their own, successful tourism businesses from across the country have been decimated by a series of setbacks that culminated with the international border closures.
“These are the same businesses which were instrumental in delivering A$45 billion export revenue in 2019 and delivering thousands of jobs to regional communities throughout the country and they will be the ones which will provide future jobs and economic prosperity.
“Given the success of our export tourism industry over the past decade which saw international visitors contributing more than A$350 billion in our economy, we must ensure these businesses survive.
“Once the borders reopen, these businesses will quickly rebound and once again contribute significantly to our export earnings, support regional economies and build back Australian jobs.”