McLaren Vale’s Hastwell Travel & Cruise join travel agent calls for government support
McLaren Vale travel agent Trinity Hastwell has joined calls for a $125 million support package for the travel industry in dire need of help in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
South
Don't miss out on the headlines from South . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Local travel agents have joined industry calls for government support for the industry.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) asked for a $125 million support package for the more than 40,000 Australians employed by the travel industry.
McLaren Vale and Frewville based travel agent Trinity Hastwell joined AFTA and thousands of travel agents across Australia in calling for government support.
“We need borders to reopen … and we definitely need state borders to remain open and then get international borders open as soon as possible,” she said.
“It was disappointing that the government didn’t do anything specifically for the travel industry in the latest budget.
“There’s lots of talk about wanting to get women back into the workplace and things like that.
“Well there’s 40,000 employees in this industry and most of them are women so it’s disappointing that we weren’t acknowledged.”
Ms Hastwell said the last six months had been extremely difficult for her agency – Hastwell Travel & Cruise.
“We have spent all our time basically working through a list to get the best outcomes for our clients because without us who’s going to process all the refunds and get those back from overseas?” Ms Hastwell, 39, said.
“Financially the government sort of denied our right to make an income by shutting all the borders so we can’t make any income now but we’ve spent the last six months giving back last year’s revenue and our income.”
Ms Hastwell has been a travel agent for more than 15 years and now manages the agency, founded by her father Mark more than 30 years ago.
“In times like these, it’s never been more true that without a travel agent you’re on your own,” she said.
“There’s lots of people out there trying to get their own refunds back and it’s just not happening but travel agents are still here working tirelessly.”