13 Jul 2021
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has highlighted the increasingly urgent need for widespread support for the travel sector due to the immediate and flow-on impacts of the Greater Sydney lockdown.
As a result of the COVID restrictions in Greater Sydney and wider NSW, state and territory borders, as well as the trans-Tasman Safe Travel Zone, are rapidly closing, with significant ramifications for agents and businesses, according to AFTA.
An estimated 15,000 jobs have already been lost in Australia’s travel sector, with recovery only possible with the resumption of international travel for most.
AFTA is continuing to work closely with Austrade and the federal government to accelerate and support the distribution of the $258 million in support through the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program to eligible small- and medium-sized agencies.
Covid response minister Chris Hipkins in the debating chamber this week. “These arrangements provide that quarantine-free travel may commence when the respective health authorities have determined that the rate of Covid-19 transmission and associated public health risk is acceptably low in both countries.” In December the Government revealed a hopeful timetable for trans-Tasman travel by the end of March this year. When contacted by
Stuff about his answers Hipkins was non-committal, saying that “negotiations are ongoing with Australia around trans-Tasman travel”. “Coid-19 is a tricky virus which both countries continue to grapple with. It’s difficult to put a timeframe on when negotiations might conclude in that context.”