Rebuilding Australia's travel and tourism industry: 2020 the year of the COVID-19 and its recovery

Travel and tourism remains one of the biggest industries to be hardest affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Witnessing the industry grind a halt and even going in reverse has been some of the darkest days those in the industry have ever been through. For the past eight months, several travel and tourism sectors had to pause everything. Parts of Australia have been ordered to stay home, resulting in loss of businesses and the country facing a massive economic crisis. So will the travel and tourism industry recover?

Moving forward to the "New Normal"

There are a number of uncertainties facing the travel industry, but the good news is that the leaders and most business operators have survived, and are adapting to the fact that travel will definitely look different going forward.

With the restrictions beginning to ease, travel and tourism sectors are all set to plan and embrace the new normal. Have millions of travelers at home been dreaming of their next holiday again? Yes! Almost 60% of customers are considering  booking their next international holiday once restrictions are lifted in the next 12 months, according to data released by Flight Centre during their Annual General Meeting. In even better news, only 3.5% of Flight Centre customers that were surveyed said they would not be considering travel in the near future. 

While COVID-19 is not over yet and continues to force international borders to remain closed, domestic interstate and intrastate travel brings new hope! A hugely positive sign of recovery sees 80% of customers opting for domestic travel in the next 12 months and considering Queensland as the luxurious hot spot. 

This is the perfect chance to get to know of our beautiful country. COVID-19 has changed our lives and has taught us to appreciate what we have and be grateful of our homeland. As we travel more within Australia, we start discovering places that we never thought of. It is a moment of realisation  of how rich and beautiful Australia is in both culture and landscape. 

Both Virgin Australia and Qantas are trying to stimulate further demand for domestic travel. Virgin Australia announced recently that it is adding 17 more routes to its network to get more Australian's travelling. The Prime Minister's announcement of the states opening borders by Christmas (fingers crossed!) is definitely something that all Australians are eagerly waiting for, possibly none more than Victorians who have been in strict lock down conditions for months. 

While the focus is on domestic travel for now, more states have launched multi-million dollar tourism campaigns like Queensland's ' Good to Go'  and Sydney's 'Love it like you mean it ' to inspire visitors to explore the very best of their own backyards.

With so many positive signs already in the travel industry, and a serious chance of a vaccine being available in 2021, now is the perfect time to start your travel career, ready for when travel is really booming again. 

Find out more about our Diploma of Travel and Tourism, where you'll learn with the industry experts  gain real work experience  and be set up with all knowledge and skills for suitable employment.