Howard Salkow

Senior Journalist

There will be a high demand for international travel when the borders re-open, but the travel industry wants more clarity on when this will happen.

This is the view expressed today by Tara Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree (TPDD), the region’s tourism body.

“There will be very high demand for international travel as borders start to reopen across the globe. And Australia’s travel industry would like to see more certainty on when this will be, and an acceleration of the vaccine rollout so we can re-open to the world and maximise the pent up demand,” said Bennett.

She said while international travel is off the cards, it presents a huge opportunity to convert these travellers to get out and discover more of Australia.

“Port Douglas and the Daintree are well positioned for this market with an enviable range of experiences and world renowned natural assets.”

Bennett said the high visitation the region is currently experiencing, demonstrates the opportunities the current border situation can present.

“However, this is not being felt across the industry as Australians don’t traditionally spend as much on tours and experiences.

“The past 17 months have been tough for so many reasons. Seeing visitor numbers strengthen and the region being so highly sought after, is very welcome and a trend we expect to continue. For example, May is forecast to deliver around 80% occupancy as compared with 53.9% in 2019,” she said.

According to the Queensland State Government, you can enter Queensland from any Australian state or territory.

There are no COVID-19 hotspots in Australia and the Queensland Border Declaration Pass system is not active. You do not need a border pass to enter Queensland.

“However, if you have been in an interstate exposure venue during the exposure period you must quarantine for 14 days in a government arranged accommodation when entering Queensland. If you haven’t been to an interstate exposure venue, you must monitor the venue list for 14 days after you arrive in Queensland.”

Tourism Research Australia in a February report, said COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact on Australia’s domestic tourism market. Improvement seen in recent months for domestic travel continued in February, despite localised COVID-19 outbreaks.

They also revealed:

• February saw the smallest monthly declines in overnight trips and spend since the start of the pandemic.
• The improvement in February was underpinned by strong results in New South Wales (NSW). Overnight trips were up 3% to 2.5 million and spend was up 1% to $1.4 billion on February 2020. The summer bushfires greatly affected the results for February 2020.
• Intrastate travel continued to drive the recovery in domestic overnight travel from the lows of April and May 2020. Intrastate overnight visitors were up 2% to 5.4 million and spend was up 19% to $2.7 billion.