Australia will open its borders for international students and skilled migrants on Dec. 15 after putting the plans on hold for two-weeks due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The government had originally planned to open the international borders to this cohort on Dec. 15 but paused those plans while…

The New South Wales government will invest more than $530 million (US$397 million) into “turbocharging” the recovery of the events and tourism sector. “This is all about turbocharging our visitor economy,” Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres told reporters. “There’s probably no sector across NSW that’s been more damaged by the sustained impact of the coronavirus pandemic…

Two major tourism operators operating in Australia will require their travellers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 with a ‘no jab, no journey’ policy. The Travel Corporation (TTC) and Intrepid Travel are the latest companies in the tourism sector to hand down COVID-19 vaccine mandates. TTC will require all travellers and customer service staff in Australia…

Accor Pacific CEO Simon McGrath has warned that hotels will soon close across all Australian states and territories without financial support from the government. “Across the industry, plans are rapidly accelerating today to hibernate and close hotels due to the lack of government support,” McGrath told The Australian. “Business owners are at breaking point, and…

New South Wales (NSW) state ministers say they are being left behind in the newly announced federal tourism support package. The package, announced on March 10, is part of a $1.2 billion support package for the struggling Australian tourism industry and will subsidise half the cost of 800,000 airfare tickets for domestic travellers to 13…

The federal government is subsidising half the cost of 800,000 eligible airfare tickets for domestic travellers as part of a $1.2 billion support package for the struggling tourism industry. The program, scheduled to run from April to July, is the next step in economic support for the tourism industry after JobKeeper ends in March. “This…