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For decades, hordes of travelers have explored vast sections of the globe with a backpack in tow. Whether they were hitting up the tried and true Banana Pancake Trail in Southeast Asia or memorably losing a journal during those travels, many people have viewed those trips as seminal moments in their lives.
But backpacker tourism faces an uncertain post-pandemic future. Several destinations, like New Zealand, that are popular with backpackers may focus more on attracting high-end visitors.
Moreover, the death of backpacker tourism has already been foreshadowed as the cheap flights many young travelers have relied on may become less frequent as airlines seek to recoup massive losses they’ve suffered.
Tourism Research Australia: Domestic overnight tourism losses of USD26 4bn for Jan/Nov-2020 centreforaviation.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from centreforaviation.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ms Anderson said Tourism Noosa s cash on hand holdings plummeted from $710,000 in 2019 to $149,000 last year, due in part to the cancellation of the Noosa Eat and Drink festival and staff severance payments. We tapped into our Tourism Noosa contingency fund for the first time ever because we need to, Ms Anderson said. We needed the financial support. Ms Anderson said the Tourism Noosa budget had to be brought back to workable financial plan during the past 12 months after a steep rise in staff prior to her coming on board. She said the actions had resulted in a more streamlined back-to-basics operation and successful government grant funding allocations would improve Tourism Noosa s financial position.
While other nations struggle with growing Covid cases and mounting deaths, Australians - with a few exceptions - are going about their normal lives, but are banned from going abroad.
Struggling Melbourne makes tourism SOS to booming regions
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Tourism leaders are calling on the Andrews government to rescue ailing Melbourne hotels, attractions and experiences through a city-specific travel voucher scheme that asks regional Victorians to return the holiday favour.
The vouchers would be similar in design to those encouraging Melbourne vacationers to the regions – many of which are enjoying bumper seasons in what is becoming an increasingly stark two-speed recovery, chief executive of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, Felicia Mariani, said.
Balloon Man chief pilot Chris Shorten said a voucher scheme to drum up Melbourne tourism was sorely needed.