Australia`s Federal Government announces help for tourism (ABC)
Tourists across the country have reported that more and more overseas visitors have cancelled their australian trip to parade due to a mountain fire.
Just a few days ago, australia`s federal government announced a $76 million grant to revive tourism, but travel companies said it would have a long way to go, with especialy encouraging visitors to return to australia from key markets like china.
As the lunar new year holiday begins this weekend, there are signs that some chinese tourists have changed their overseas holiday itineraries.
Australian broadcaster ABCjournallist Rachel Mealey reported preliminary figures from the Australian Tourism Authority showed international visitor bookings fell 20 to 30 percent in January....
Ben Woodward is the sales and marketing director of the Capta Group. The company owns travel companies and wildlife parks in north Queensland.
He said his company suffered a direct blow.
"In Keynes and the Great Barrier Reef, we`ve seen the cancellation of some group tours over the past few weeks," he said.
"The main group cancellations are those that cover a one-day tour of the Sydney Parade. Concerns over the smoke from the wildfires have led them to cancel their entire journey to Australia. "
Booking.com and Expedia`s booking website report that bookings for next week`s Spring Festival holiday are down 30 to 40 percent.
Dario Sirotti is a sales and marketer at Fraser Gallop Estate in the Margaret River in Western Australia.
Although they were not directly affected by the mountain fires, he said, people in the area were concerned about the impact the fires would have on the number of visitors.
"Everyone, the especially travel company and the town`s business are talking about it, and they`re worried. Many foreigners believe that Australia has been ravaged by wildfires and, unfortunately, that the entire country has been affected by international tourists. And that`s not true. "
Mr. sirotti said the tourism industry as a whole could not escape the downturn in economics because of the misunderstanding of the mountain fires among overseas tourists.
"I`ve been moving to Australia for 10 years. Recently, someone has asked to contact me on Facebook to ask me and my family if they have any questions. More than one person, many people do. Many people think the fire is out of control. "
"Unfortunately, it is thought that the Victorian fire will also affect Western Australia, but the reality is not necessarily so. "
Sarah Gardiner is dean of the Griffith Tourism Institute (Griffith Institute for Tourism). She said any plan to revive the industry would require more marketing to bring Australian tourism back to life.
"Our biggest challenge now is to change discourse and cognition, change`s narrative and reporting on Australia. educate people and overseas travel company Australia as usual. Many places are untouched by wildfires. "
