Toorak Village Travel and Cruise agent Judy Quigley says travel industry crippled by COVID
The heart wrenching truth about what lockdown and border closures have done to the travel industry has been laid bare by one of Toorak’s most popular travel agents.
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A Toorak travel agent whose Wallace Ave business has been crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic has backed an industry call for a $125 million government support package.
Judy Quigley, of Toorak Village Travel and Cruise, said it had taken 34 years to build her business into a successful agency, only to see it all but wiped out overnight.
“There’s been no prospect of sales because we can’t travel anywhere, but we still have our ongoing expenses to pay,” Ms Quigley said.
“I’m still working every day, processing refunds. I’ve had to do nearly $1m in refunds.
“We’ve gone from having a profitable and successful business down to zero overnight.”
Ms Quigley said the uncertainty was crippling.
“We don’t know what the future holds so we can’t make any decisions,” she said.
“It’s very, very stressful. It’s up and down, one minute hopeful, the next deflated.
“It’s the not knowing whether you are going to have a business and to keep trying, or just close the doors.”
She said the industry was at the mercy of the government and federal funding was vital.
“We can’t even sell interstate, we’re just in turmoil,” she said.
“It would be an absolute lifeline, I don’t know how a lot of agencies will continue without it.
“Without it the future is very bleak.”
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents is calling on the government to bankroll a $125 million support package to help the country’s 4000 travel agencies.
Australia’s travel industry employs 40,000 people and contributes $28 billion each year to the economy, and 70 per cent of international travel is booked through agents, according to information provided by AFTA.
The majority of travel agencies are small, family owned businesses, and AFTA estimates up to a quarter will close as a result of the economic fallout from the virus.
The industry hasn’t received any support outside of the standard coronavirus support packages offered to all businesses such as JobKeeper and Jobseeker.
In contrast, other industries have received hundreds of millions of dollars in monetary relief, including builders through the home builder scheme ($688 million), Arts and entertainment ($250 million), film and television ($400 million), and aviation ($1.1 billion).
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