Helloworld hails Australia’s reopening after $20m loss
As Omicron cases ebb and Fortress Australia reopens, travel agents and wholesalers are reporting significant increases in bookings.
Amid the reopening of international borders and the ebb and flow of Covid-19 cases, travel agents and wholesalers are reporting significant increases in bookings, with big bucket-list trips in high demand.
Travel group Helloworld, which reported its first-half financial results on Monday, said its main customers to date have been British and European leisure tourists who are booking high-end tours of central Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Sydney.
“Demand is out of the United Kingdom and Europe including Scandinavia. These are all leisure tourists, they have been hoping to come to Australia for the past two years – for many of them it has been longer than that,” said Helloworld chief executive Andrew Burnes. “Australia is one of the most desired destinations in the world. Now Australian borders have opened up again the early adapters are getting in and booking as fast as they can.”
Helloworld reported a $19.58m before-tax loss for the half-year ended December 31, 2021, which was a 9 per cent improvement on its performance during the previous corresponding period. The company, which did not pay a dividend for the half year, reported $694m in total transaction values, up more than 60 per cent on trading during the six months to December 31, 2020.
But like all other travel agency groups tackling Covid-19, it has been far from smooth sailing, with Helloworld losing 106 members, bringing its membership to 2168.
“I think the priority for us at the moment is to look after the Helloworld members still there. That will remain our focus for a considerable period of time to come,” Mr Burnes said.
Helloworld’s New Zealand operations have not performed as well as Australia’s, with revenue dropping to $2.2m for the half year, down from $2.9m the previous year.
All up, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were down more than 56 per cent to December 31 compared with the prior period.
“New Zealand is a much smaller country … while we have sold a lot of Western Australian travel to Western Australians, New Zealanders have not had the options (of booking travel within New Zealand),” Mr Burnes said. However, before the closure of the Cook Islands due to the tsunami, Kiwis had flocked to the idyllic South Pacific nation, he said.
While Helloworld has been catering for high-spending British and European tourists, Mr Burnes said bookings from inbound Japanese tourists – who must quarantine on their return home – were non-existent.
The Chinese market, which before Covid-19 was Australia’s biggest inbound market, would take a bit longer to recover. Southeast Asian travel bookings were also very slow, he said.
On the cruise front. Mr Burnes – who through Helloworld owns cruise wholesaler Cruiseco – said he was very supportive of the federal and state government reopening cruising in local waters to foreign-flagged vessels.
Helloworld shares closed slightly down at $2.44.
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