Australia Tourism Industry welcomes government’s payment support plan

Published on : Friday, April 3, 2020

The Australian Federal Government recently announced the program of wage support through the ‘job keeper payment’. The payment system appears to be a life-saving action for Australia’s tourism industry. The tourism sector in Australia has welcomed the payment plan with open arms. The payment program will provide a wage subsidy to workers and will be given to eligible businesses that have been hit by a significant financial hit caused by the coronavirus.

Peter Shelley, Managing Director, Australian Tourism Export Council said in a statement that the Prime Minister’s program might not protect every tourism job but it can help to provide support to certain tourism businesses that can contribute to getting Australia’s tourism export industry back on its feet. He mentioned about keeping the knowledge and skill of the industry connected. He also officially welcomed the wage subsidy put forward by the Federal Government.

He further added that Australia’s $45 billion export tourism industry was already shattered by January’s bushfires. He informed that it was closely followed by the closure of their China inbound market. He said that before the present economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Australia’s tourism industry already suffered two major setbacks.

He said that the present scenario is a terribly challenging time for tourism businesses across Australia. He also shared that every individual in the tourism sector will not be able to take advantage of the package. However, support for businesses that can retain their employees will be welcomed.

Mr. Shelley also mentioned that the tourism sector employs one in 13 Australians. Last year, export tourism accounted for around 10% of Australia’s export. Therefore, tourism’s ability to get back on its feet with immediate effect will help to drive the country’s economic recovery. He informed that the next step would be to look at how tourism employees can be productive. Their capability to use their energy towards building businesses and taking full advantage of the downtime would also be noticed.