In history, 2020 will be marked as the year when the earth stood still. No one could have imagined that life would come to a standstill. Such an occurrence was unprecedented since there is no incident like a global pandemic claiming the lives of people all over the world. It might be a while before COVID-19 ends. Some experts suggest that it will take another year for the virus to die down as more people develop herd immunity.
After a lockdown of more than 110 days, the situation in Australia is going towards betterment.
However, the news of 17 new Coronavirus cases in South Australia has people worrying. These new cases could lead to another lockdown for the unforeseeable future.
The tourism industry is one of the worst-hit industries globally. With cities closing down, fewer flights, and strict travel restrictions, this year has been hard for tourism. All tourist destinations have introduced travel restrictions in response to the risks posed by the pandemic. According to estimates, between 100 to 120 million jobs in the tourism industry have been affected by the pandemic. An industry amounting to $60 billion, the Australian tourist industry is facing setbacks.
The tourist population has dwindled. This year, there were 67 million international arrivals less than the year before. The same is true in Australia’s case. The Australian tourism industry employs 666,000 (5% of the total workforce), contributing 3.5% to the national GDP. The travel restrictions have put the livelihood of these people at stake.
Small-scale hotel and property owners may be driven out of business. According to an article by The Guardian, Cairns reported the loss of 1,800 local jobs. It leaves behind a worrisome situation for people who earned their livelihood from the tourism industry.
A survey conducted by ABC reveals grim realities. 77% of the tour operators say that they rely on foreign travelers and will be out of business if tourism doesn’t start next year. In addition to this, 44% of tour operators say that they will have to close down within the next six to twelve months.
It’s not just foreign tourism that is affected; a sharp decline in local tourists has also been observed. Deloitte reports that in Victoria, domestic and international tourists spend about $32 billion per year. The majority of this spending is by the Victorians (47% of the total expenditure).
In 2019, more than 3 million people applied for a visa for Australia. Likewise, more than 1 million people applied for a tourist visa, which required the services of companies like Expresstranslate. However, in 2020 this number has fallen tremendously. The repercussions of the travel ban will have a lasting impact on Australia’s economy.
Not only have people lost jobs in the course of the pandemic, but businesses have also incurred heavy losses. Many hope that local tourism may support the economy; however, tourists do not have the confidence to travel as yet.
It will be a while before things go back to normal. Until then, we can only hope.
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