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The suspense is over – the Netherlands has won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Apart from that, and joking aside, the dramatic development in Australian politics at the weekend promises to have a significant effect on travel.

The travel industry could notice the flow-on effects of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s poll-defying electoral win quite rapidly, and the effects should be positive.

The Australian dollar gained ground after the result and was trading at a little above 69 US cents early this morning.

A million words will no doubt be written on the reasons for Morrison’s victory, but regardless of political opinion, some things stand out from a travel perspective.

  • The industry – and business in general – hates uncertainty. It makes planning difficult and it puts a dampener on bookings. Uncertainly has hung around for months, firstly over the date of the election, secondly over the outcome.
  • Lucrative travel sectors, such as self-funding retirees, defer booking travel in the face of financial concerns over the possible intentions of a new government. They may now go ahead and book – and if they do, the effects could flow through quickly.
  • Morrison is a known quantity. We will never know what sort of prime minister Bill Shorten would have made, but Scott Morrison is already prime minister, so no mystery there. He can now get on with the process of forming government and running the country, rather than fighting an election.
  • The dampening effect of political uncertainty contributed to Australian business and discount domestic airfares falling in May in the run-up to the federal election. Fares were noticeably lower than in April and also lower than in May 2018, according to a survey of internet booking sites by the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics. Best discount airfares were 8.3% lower than a year ago and business fares were 10.4% down. Qantas said earlier this month it was facing slowing domestic demand and was waiting until after the federal election to gauge whether this was temporary, AirineRatings.com reported.
  • Morrison knows tourism. He worked as director of the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport from 1998 to 2000 and was managing director of Tourism Australia from 2004 to 2006.

Aussie tourism. Ranger pointing out birds on Mamukala Wetlands Walk, Kakadu National Park

  • As AFTA chief executive Jayson Westbury observed recently, the crucial issue for the industry in the election was that one or the other political party “wins with a majority in the lower house so that they can actually govern for the people”. The Coalition should be able to form a workable government, though we don’t yet know if it will be a majority or a minority government.
  • Morrison’s win, from an underdog position, was so convincing it has made his position as Prime Minister unassailable, putting an end to the revolving door of prime ministers which has dogged Australian politics for years.
  • It’s not all perfect, however. The hotel industry had welcomed Labor’s pledge on price parity – to “level the playing field so that Australia’s accommodation providers have the ability to set their own prices so that they can compete with the multinationals behind the world’s largest online booking sites”. The government has yet to match that.

In an early reaction to the Coalition’s surprise victory, Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) managing director, Peter Shelley, issued the following statement:

“ATEC congratulates the Coalition on its election win and looks forward to working with the new Morrison Government in advocating for policy settings that will help drive future growth of the tourism industry.

“ATEC has always been committed to working with whichever party forms Government in order to highlight the value of our industry and the opportunities it brings to our economy.

“We see tourism as one of the key pillars of economic success for Australia now and into the future.

“In particular we recognise the value that tourism can bring to regional economies and will continue to advocate for policies which support regional growth.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

“The Coalition’s tourism policy committed to deliver improved arrival and visa processing systems which we welcome, as visa processing times have been a major challenge for our industry and an issue we’ve been highlighting for some time.

“The additional support for airport upgrades and a genuine investment in industry supported tourism icon infrastructure development is to be applauded along with small business tax breaks which were announced in the budget.

“We will continue to argue for additional marketing funds which, we believe, are desperately required for Tourism Australia to maintain its ‘world leading’ tourism marketing program in order to continue to sustain our global market share.

“When it comes to politics, good tourism policy is ATECs number one priority.”

MEANWHILE, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) congratulated Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Coalition on their election victory, saying it looks forward to working with the returned Government to further develop the Australian cruise industry.

CLIA Australasia managing director Joel Katz said the cruise sector contributes nearly $5 billion annually to the Australian economy and supports more than 17,000 full time jobs.

“Worldwide, cruise lines are investing billions of dollars in new ships and new technology that will allow them to maintain growth while at the same time reducing their impact on the environment,” Katz said.

“This investment needs to be backed by further development in port infrastructure and a supportive policy framework,” he said. “We look forward to working with the Government to ensure Australia receives maximum benefit from cruising’s continuing worldwide growth.”

Written by Peter Needham