Australian tourism and coronavirus: Domestic travel to drive recovery

It was only a few months ago that tourism was being employed by governments as means of aiding the recovery of bushfire battered communities following the devastation of the so-called "black summer".

Now, thanks to the coronavirus crisis, even the once simple proposition of a holiday itself lies in charred ruins with the only justification for a staycation in even a city hotel being for purposes of self-isolation or quarantine.

Although the national and state tourism marketing bodies have been conspicuous in their silence during the coronavirus crisis, as they and the rest of the industry await an indication as to when any form of travel can resume, domestic tourism may again emerge as an economic "white knight".

Australians spent nearly $80 billion on domestic travel in 2018-19 with the industry supporting 302,500 businesses according to Tourism Research Australia, with as many as one million Australians employed in the various segments of the industry.

It's the form of travel that will almost certainly precede the return of problematic international travel, except for certain overseas destinations deemed by the Federal Government to be "safe" for Australians.

Many local tourism businesses may not survive the impact of the pandemic crisis but those who do, along with their communities in all corners of the country, will benefit enormously from Australians taking a domestic holiday before they head overseas again.

Once the crisis is over, tentative short breaks and intrastate driving trips will be the first types of travel to reemerge, predicts Nick Baker, chief executive of Outdoria, an Australiasian travel and leisure company and a former Tourism Australia chief marketing executive.

Beaches and the bush, now largely off-limits, will likely make a strong return for day-trippers and short break-takers, Mr Baker says, as urban Australians seek to escape the cities to which they have been confined for weeks or months.