Hornsby travel agent urges government to support struggling industry
Travel Africa has revealed the immense pressure the industry is facing after borders were closed in March, causing a successful and growing business to be “pushed back by three years”.
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A Hornsby husband and wife who run a travel agency have revealed they’re struggling to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Owner of Travel Africa Chris Suchet-Pearson said while they are still operating by postponing bookings for existing clients.
The business has not received any new inquiries or bookings in months with revenue falls of close to 100 per cent.
They estimate it will take three years for their once-vibrant and growing business to bounce back as it survives on JobKeeper and small business grants, with hopes the government will provide an industry package to help them survive.
The industry body, the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), has requested a $125m assistance package for Australia’s 4000 travel agents and the 40,000 Australians travel agencies employ.
Mr Suchet-Pearson said the travel industry has been doing it tough, being one of the first businesses hit by the international travel ban in March, and will be one of the last to recover.
“The travel industry is one that because of the nature of the industry, it will need ongoing support so businesses can continue,” Mr Suchet-Pearson said.
“We need the politicians to understand what’s happening. In the budget there was support for domestic travel but little for international travel so that’s the one that’s taken the biggest hit. “We need the government to understand we need their targeted support in order to maintain businesses to keep going.”
His travel agency specialises in offering tailored itinerary for southern Africa.
“I think what needs to be realised, especially with destinations like Africa is they’re not places where the borders open next week and you visit them a month later. These are trips people plan 12 months in advance.
“It means when things eventually open up again there’s going to be at least a six to 12 lag in us making any profit.
“We’ve gone from being a growing company with income to having no income in the last six months. That’s probably going to be until we get more certainty with the borders. It’s likely its going to extend through to 2021.”
He said if it wasn’t for Job Keeper, they would have to “hibernate” the business.
“We’ve invested so many years of our passion and knowledge into Southern Africa, it’s very difficult to look at reinventing the business.
“It takes time to understand the destination and the market. It’s not as easy as people think to into something like domestic travel, it’s like saying to a plumber you’re going to be an electrician, it’s not going to happen.
“The other thing to bare in mind is there’s no the commission or financial profits in trying to sell domestic because it’s quite a saturated market.”
He said it’s been an emotional time for his family.
“You see the impact the coronavirus has had all over the world. It can be difficult when we still don’t have a light at the end of the tunnel so it does affect you.
“It’s also quite concerning because we work with a lot of operators in southern Africa. The people we work with, this will have hit them really hard so that’s been a big hit, not just for us but for the people we work with.”
He said Travel Africa would appreciate local’s support during this hard time.
“This pandemic is going to come to an end at some point so we’re quite happy to be supportive and have chats with people who might want to book a trip when they’re ready.
“All travel agents want to be there when its over and when it is, to hopefully book and plan your trips.”