jornalist | diyle Editor | Tang Wei
Australia, in the southern hemisphere, has been unable to extinguish a fire that has been burning since last September, amid global scrutiny.
From the internet, people saw images of the blaze burning, and wondered why the fire was burning so badly that the New Year fireworks were on schedule, even if up to a quarter of a million people jointly wanted the show cancelled. Much, or shocking, or regrettable, information has continued to come into view, and information about the fires has continued to spread.
The cocoon of information seems to make it a little hard to tell. Between July 1,2019 and January 2020, just 4.9 million hectares of land have been burning in New South Wales, according to statistics. Professors at the University of Sydney have conservatively estimated that nearly 500 million animals, including kangaroos and koalas, burned...
It`s the shock of the information that makes Australia, the most popular of the season, a tourist winter.
But is it true?
Travel-loving blogger vivi, who has been travelling in australia these days, posted several photos of herself learning to surf on timeline, positioning herself on the gold coast. Friends who saw the Timeline commented, saying they didn`t quite believe the blue sky and white clouds in photo were Australia where the fire was going, wondering why they were seeing different information and pictures.
She says many of her domestic partners in Australia are keen to remind her to be safe and not to go to the forest because 500 million animals are dead. "Don`t say my friend was worried when I saw a picture of a burned koala holding a fireman. However, these days in queensland, the feeling is that people do what to do, the blue sky and white clouds have not broken, the amount of donations are also increasing. "she said.
After all, most people around them feel that "it`s not a good time to travel to Australia these days, at least for a while ". In fact, many people who choose to wait and see or plan to postpone their trips have the same psychological activity.
It is true. The number of bookings for Australian-related routes during the Spring Festival was nearly 20% lower than in the same period last year, with 6.1% of Chinese visitors to Australia who have been booked for the Spring Festival choosing to reschedule to travel at other times and 1% opting for a refund.
South Australia`s Kangaroo Island was previously popular with Asian tourists. Following the fire, a number of Southern Ocean Hotels posted a statement on the website stating that the forest had suffered "extensive fire damage and that the hotel was now closed" and that travel to and from the island had been restricted.
In addition, from January 7 to 26, the Sydney Music Festival cancelled its flagship event," Opening Night "... officials said "due to the impact of the Sydney fire, the opening night scheduled for January 21 to 26 was shut down due to air quality-related health issues. "Particular attention has also been paid to the Australian Open, which is being held in Melbourne on January 20.
Although the fire is still burning, but with the advance of time, its harm and impact is also slightly reduced.
On january 7th the australian tourism agency issued an official statement in response to the incident, saying that although some areas were affected by the wildfires, most of them remained safe destinations and most of them operated normally. At the same time, the Australian Travel Agency on its official website also summarized some of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, including the real-time update of the impact of wildfires on major tourist attractions and other information.
"We express our deep sympathy to some Australian residents affected by the wildfires and our heartfelt gratitude to the firefighters who fought hard at the front line," the Australian Tourism Board`s chief and chief executive, Mr Han Feili, said in a statement. "
The Australian travel agency`s claim is supported by most travel agencies. Among them, Shanghai travel agency said that because most tourist areas are not in the fire range, so the mountain fire to Chinese tourists visit Australia during the Spring Festival. At the same time, the Shanghai Spring and Autumn Travel Agency also said that most of its itineraries are on the east coast of Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
In addition, Ctrip, flying pigs, cattle and other OTA booking data also show that this year Australia is still in the Spring Festival outbound long-term destination Top10. The most popular long-term outbound destination for Chinese tourists is Australia, which has been a summer Spring Festival in the southern hemisphere, according to an earlier report by Ctrip.
It is also worth noting that some of the previous South Australia Kangaroo Island tourism projects have now returned to normal. Since January 16, Kangaroo Island has reopened and the one-day tour experience has resumed. As the current fire on Kangaroo Island has been contained, Kangaroo Island Sea Travel said its two-day trip will also be shared with the public in the near future.
"The reality isn`t as bad as it`s reported, but it`s not all that affecting. It`s true that Australia`s fire-fighting efficiency is low, but the work has been going on, and there has been no neglect. "said Vivi. For this reason, she saw fewer faces of chinese tourists surfing on the gold coast than before.
A friend of hers had previously sent a message saying Australia had haze to pay attention to, but the moment after the information was received she checked the air pollution index." The air pollution index is now 144 in Xi`an and 28 on the Gold Coast," she said. "
In fact, along with Vivi`s optimism, Luke, a local tour guide in Sydney, said the recent weather in Sydney was good and blue sky and white clouds. According to common sense and experience, the fire will continue to burn for two months, and by March the weather will be better, the humidity will increase, the rain will increase, and the mountain fire will not be able to burn again.
However, local overseas Chinese doctor Peter is not so optimistic. "The fires have directly affected Australia`s economic and tourism industries, and, with air pollution, the disappearance of major forests and the destruction of several small cities, fewer and fewer visitors than in previous years. "There were days when Sydney was yellow and polluted as if it were blowing sand and there was a layer of yellow dust on the car," he said. But these days are much better, but also see the blue sky again. "
There is no data to predict orders for Chinese tourists to travel to Australia over the next two months, but Australia is still among the most popular destinations for outbound destinations from OTAs such as Ctrip, Flying Pig and Horse Honeycomb.
Although the mountain fire has seriously damaged Australia, it can be seen that people are still full of confidence in the tourism industry here, but regret that there are many animals we can no longer see.
Picture: Australian Tourism Board official, instagram
Reproduced from: Interface - Tourism
