Special
reportGOURMET TRAVELLER 27PHOTOGRAPHY VALERIIA MILLER.
suspendingtrips,whileothersofferedcustomersadded
flexibilitytochangeholidays scheduled to depart before
31 August2020.
ButLuxuryEscapesCEOCameronHolland says
theywon’tbetheonlyvictimsofthecrisis.
“Airlinesandcruisinghavebeenattheforefrontof
theimpactofthissituationwithmoredirecttravelbans,
butintruthalltravelprovidersareaffected,fromlocal
hotelstointernationaltouringcompanies,”saysHolland.
“Travelis a trulyglobalindustryandallofour community
is goingthroughsomeimpactfromthis.”
It’sunavoidable,he says, that Australian travel
habitswillchange.
PeterHarbison,chairmanemeritusofCAPACentre
forAviation,saysthatintheshorttermAustralianswill
looktothedomesticmarketwhentheyarereadytotravel
again.Andlongterm,internationaltravelmaynotbeas
robustasit hasbeenwiththefallingAustraliandollar
makingoverseasjauntsa muchmorecostlyendeavour.
“Australiansaregreattravellersand,whenthedollar
washigh,theGulfcarriersandothersrampedupcapacity
togainthemaximummarketshare,”explainsHarbison.
“ThatcreatedlotsofoptionsforAustraliansand
a highlycompetitivemarketfor long-haul
travelwithverylowfares.
“Todaythedollaris atabouthalfthe
levelofwhereit wasjustsevenoreight
yearsago,sounlessit appreciates
significantly,muchoftheforeignairline
capacitywon’tcomebackintoAustralia. It
won’tbeworthit. It willbequitea
whilepost-virusbeforeweseesuch
a competitivemarketagain.”
Oneregionhopingtobenefitfroma
domesticboompost-virusis theGoldCoastwhere
tourismaccountsfor 40 percentoftheeconomy.
“PeopleseetheGoldCoastasbeingpredominantly
aninternationaldrawcard,but 92 percentofourvisitors
aredomestic,”saysDestinationGoldCoastCEOAnnaliese
Battista.“Butwhiletheinternationalmarketaccountsfor
justeightpercent,theyspendmoreandaccountfor
about 25 percentoftheoveralltourismeconomy.”
BeforeCovid-19hit,DestinationGoldCoasthad
beenfocusingitsmarketingcampaignsontheircore
market:Aussiefamilies.Andthey will continue todo
soasthehealthcrisispasses.
“Wearea domesticmarket,wearetheplacefamilies
wanttocomeandwedooffera greataffordableoption,”
saysBattista.“Sowewillsimplygobacktowhatwewere
doingpreviouslybecauseit wasworking well for us.
“Andwewillbounceback.”
UniversityofQueenslandassociateprofessorof
tourism,PierreBenckendorff,saysnootherworldevent
hasaffectedthedomesticandinternational tourism
marketlikethecoronaviruscrisis.
“Thisis a majorcrisisforthetravelindustryacross
the world,” says Benckendorff. “There’s no doubt about it.Nothingcomesclosetohaving had the same effect
ontravelascoronavirus.
“Thisglobalpandemicwilldragontowardsthe
endoftheyear,andnotallbusinesseswillsurviveit.”
Benckendorffsaysonlythreeotherworldevents
haveresultedin a dropin internationalvisitornumbers
since 1950 accordingtotheUNWorldTourism
Organization:theglobalrecessionoftheearly
1980s,theterroristattackson11 September 2001
andtheSARSoutbreakof2002.
Buthesaystheseeventsshinea hopefullighton
theresilienceofthetravelindustry,whichhepredicts
willreboundquicklyoncethe health crisis passes
andtravelbansarelifted.
RachelKingswellis theNSWregionalgeneral
managerforTravelAssociatesandhasworkedin
thetravelindustryfor 22 years.Sheremainshopeful
theAussiespiritforadventurewill not be crushed
bythecoronavirusoutbreak.
“Australiansaresoresilientandsuchpassionate
travellers,”saysKingswell.“ThinkoftheBalibombings.
I neverthoughtAustralianswouldgoback,butthey
did.”Kingswellpredictsthefirstinternationalmarkets
toopenuponcethehealthcrisis
passeswillbethosecloseto
home– NewZealand,thePacific
andevenHawaii– ahead of the
Europeanmarket.
Evencruises,shesays,willbe
backontheagendaasdedicated
cruisersjumpatthechancetotake
totheseasagain.Infact,shesays
someoftheircustomersarealready
bookingforthe 2021 season.
ClinicalpsychologistJaimieBlochofMindmovers
PsychologyinSydneysaystheperceivedthreatof
theviruscouldremainlongaftertheactualthreat
haspassed,andcouldhave long-term effectson^
people’stravelhabits.
“Justlikewith9/11whentherewashugefear
andanxietyaroundflyingandtravelling,sowill
therebewithcoronavirus,”explainsBloch.“Those
eventsarestillfreshinpeople’smindsandthiswill
heightenthefearandanxietyaroundtravelagain.
“Whenyou’reunderstress,thebrainexaggerates
theperceivedthreatandthatcancontinueeven
afterthethreathaspassed.Theamygdalainthe
brainworksasyourthreatalarmandit’slinkedto
thehippocampus,whichis yourbrain’smemory
centre,sowhenyouareunderthreat,your brain
willrelateit todangersfromthepast.
“Forthisreason,thefearoftravellingabroad
andofflyingcouldlinger,likeit didwith9/11.It won’t
crushthatadventurousspiritAustraliansareknown
for,butit willmakeusmorecautiousaboutwhere
wetravel,andmayintheimmediateaftermathof
coronavirus keep us holidaying closer to home.”●Onceitstruckit
waspowerfuland
allconsuming,
strikingall
industries... but
fewmoreso than
the travel industry.Thestepsof
theSydney
OperaHouse
areempty
withthe
current
restrictions
in place.