THE Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) has declared that all ongoing border restrictions in Australia must end if the tourism sector is to make a meaningful recovery anytime soon.
Deputy Chair of ATIC Daniel Gschwind singled out Western Australia for criticism, stating that tourism operators in the state had been “dealt another heavy blow” to their ability to conduct business as normal.
“Australians have been doing the hard work to get through this pandemic and it would be a tragedy to see their hard work come to nothing.
“If we cannot ease our own borders and come back together now, with all the tools we have available, then when?” Gschwind questioned, with new figures released by the National Tourism Business Activity and COVID-19 Survey for Oct-Dec confirming operators are down by 52% in business activity when compared to the same quarter in 2019.
“Every regional community and all capital cities in Australia have been impacted by the loss of tourism activity, they need to be supported for a speedy recovery,” Gschwind added.
MEANWHILE The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments to accelerate the relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage.
IATA wants to see quarantine/testing removed for vaccinated travellers, and likewise for the unvaccinated, so long as they can provide a negative COVID test result prior to departure.
The post The time has come: ATIC appeared first on Travel Daily.
Source: traveldaily