TTF Media Release
Monday 28 June 2021
TOURISM INDUSTRY WILL TAKE ANOTHER $6 BILLION HIT OVER SCHOOL HOLIDAY PERIOD
As Greater Sydney plunged into a two-week lockdown covering the entirety of the June/July school holidays Australia’s struggling tourism industry has estimated it will lose over $6 billion according to new economic data commissioned by the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF).
The research undertaken by tourism economists Stafford Strategy revealed Sydney’s latest Covid 19 outbreak and the border restrictions imposed on Sydney and NSW residents will completely decimate the mid-year holiday period with spending predicted to be down by $6.3 billion nationally.
As non-essential businesses across the city battened down their hatches and the majority of Sydneysiders settled in for two weeks at home the tourism sector in NSW prepared for lost business of $2.1 billion or $153 million a day – almost one third of the total losses predicted nationally for the peak holiday period.
TTF CEO, Margy Osmond, said this the third school holiday period in a row that an outbreak has forced a lockdown in one of our capital cities and this time around we have increased restrictions throughout NSW ensuring the pain continues for the industry.
“While health remains the number one priority in the management of COVID-19 and TTF commends the management of the crisis particularly by the NSW Government, I’m not sure how much longer we can survive while ever this lack of certainty continues.
“This latest outbreak is proof of how important it is for the vaccination program to be fast-tracked and for all Australian’s to get the jab.
“The tourism industry continues to suffer from a lack of international travel and the lack of confidence among Australians in the domestic travel market and in planning holidays is diabolical making it very difficult for businesses in our sector to stay afloat.
“Our data shows that in the equivalent 2019 school holidays over 1.7 million Australians travelled domestically but we are predicting the Sydney lockdown will see that number drop drastically by 73 per cent to just over 460,000 travellers.
“The two-day Darwin lockdown announced today and concern over the spread to other states from mine workers who fly in fly out along with Perth and Victoria now being on high alert will only worsen matters.
“This quickly evolving situation confirms the Federal Government’s decision to end the Jobkeeper wage subsidy particularly for the tourism industry in March was somewhat short-sighted and they will now need to look very seriously at some other form of ongoing support for the tourism sector to ensure we come out the other side of the pandemic.”
ENDS
Contact: TTF Director of Corporate Affairs and Membership Graeme Moses gmoses@ttf.org.au or 0434 569 470