“We’re from Sydney. Do you know if there’s anywhere around here we can get a table?”
This was the plaintive plea overheard from the queue outside a restaurant-bar in Canberra on Saturday night.
The capital was bustling. My hotel was full, finding a park around the entertainment hub of Lonsdale Street was impossible, and if you hadn’t made a reservation several days before arrival, you could forget about dining in any of the city’s popular restaurants. COVID-19 restrictions of one person per 4sq m meant capacity at most venues had been reduced by 75 per cent.
This is the reality for Australians travelling domestically. Spontaneity is out the window, patience is a virtue.
The good news for domestic operators is that many regional destinations are busy, according to state tourism authorities.
The road trip is back in fashion, although we are staying relatively close to home while border restrictions remain draped in red tape that could be removed then reapplied any day.
Camping and caravanning are also experiencing a renaissance as holidaymakers seek to reconnect with nature and extended family.
Yet planning has never been more important. If you want to book a holiday rental at, for example, Port Macquarie in northern NSW at the end of this month or into August — after school holidays — you have likely missed the boat. As Simone Scoppa of Stayz booking site says: “Demand for holidays homes is probably at an all-time high.”
Travellers with more disposable income will likely have more options. If Australians typically spend $6000 when they venture overseas on holiday, dropping that sort of cash at home is not hard to do.
Australia is blessed with an extraordinary range of high-end options, from five-star city hotels and luxury lodges to holiday homes with eye-popping beachfront locations — and price tags to match.
Private plane or helicopter charters to the Whitsundays — more than $20,000 for six people — will get you there and back; accommodation is, of course, extra. Exclusive outback resorts such as Mount Mulligan Lodge west of Cairns or Sal Salis near Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef also fit the bill.
Cashed-up holidaymakers could choose from a vast fleet of superyachts, which, in the absence of wealthy Americans and Chinese visitors, are floating idly at moorings around the country.
This is all well and good, but the big problem for tourism operators is that locals tend to go away for weekends or perhaps a week and spend far less than international counterparts.
It is unlikely Australians can fill the gap left by overseas visitors, who typically stay three weeks and spend thousands — $8500 on average for Chinese tourists.
And while uncertainty about border restrictions continues, it’s hard for consumers to book that luxury lodge with confidence.
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