9 May 2003The impact
According to the Australian Tourist Commission, early
indications suggest that visitor arrivals during April and
May will be down by around 20 percent compared to last
year, with SARS affected countries in Asia potentially
falling by more than 30 per cent.
Arrivals declined by 10.5 per cent in March compared
with the same month in 2002, a drop of 50,000 visitors.
In addition, operators in key markets are indicating
that forward bookings are down by 30 per cent on previous
years.
European markets, including Germany and France, are also
impacted by SARS as travellers are reluctant to travel to
Australia due to stopovers in Asia.
The fightback
As visitor numbers and hotel occupancy rates plummet,
Australia's inbound tourism industry is anxiously looking
for government support. But it may have to hold its breath
a while longer as the government moves to support domestic
tourism as a priority.
Minister for tourism, Joe Hockey was due to launch a
nationwide domestic tourism marketing campaign as
TravelWeekly went to press this week.
Industry leaders have criticised the federal government
for failing to match authorities in Hong Kong, Singapore
and Thailand, which have all released major assistance
packages for tourism operators.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive
Mike Hatton told a meeting of national tourism
organisations in Sydney last week that hotel occupancies in
capital cities had slumped to as little as 16 per cent, and
cancellation rates had risen to up to 40 per cent.
The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) said the
latest market reaction survey of its major inbound tour
operators has revealed that the June quarter is heading for
a 25 percent decrease in international visitors compared to
last year.
Better news in Victoria, where the next state budget
will include a A$40.6 million (US$26 million) funding
package to help tourism operators survive the SARS-related
downturn.
The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) is also set to
launch new advertising campaigns in its two largest tourism
markets, New Zealand and Japan, while Qantas this week
launched a major international sale to several
destinations. The 'Massive Global Sale' promotion will run
until June 15, for travel to September 14.
The airline has also released a range of deeply
discounted fares into the domestic market.