Australian tourism experience: Eight things that need to improve

Get the word out

Australia seems to have a problem with messaging. We have so much to do in this country, so much that's exciting and amazing and unique, and yet people don't know about it. There remains a perception that you'll have more fun overseas, and maybe you should sit tight and save for that. I'm not sure who is to blame here – hey, maybe it's me – but Australia needs to do a better job of letting domestic travellers know what is on offer.

Make better food

It seems grossly condescending to me to just assume that people running restaurants and cafes in rural areas in Australia can't make decent food – that you have to put up with lukewarm pies and plastic-cheese toasties because that's the best anyone can do. Australians can cook. They have skill. They have access to decent produce. The only thing missing here is an insistence from visitors and locals that they lift their game. (Again, of course, there are exceptions that only serve to prove the rule.)

Be more affordable

Australians love travelling, and we love eating out. But hey, it's pretty pricey.

Be closer

Again, this is an unsolvable and yet still annoying factor for travel in Australia: the tyranny of distance. This is a big, big country. And unless you're moving between capital cities, it can be difficult and expensive to get around. You're looking at long drive days or pricey niche flights. Some of my favourite destinations in Australia just feel far, far away. For example: I absolutely love Margaret River, but from where I live in Sydney, that's a five-hour flight and then a three-hour drive. You could get to Singapore in that time. You could almost make it to Hawaii. And there's no solution (though high-speed rail in certain areas would be a start).

Institute a national approach to border closures

It's been mind-boggling this year to watch as states have closed their borders and then refused to open them again, for seemingly arbitrary reasons and with absolutely zero consistency. For travellers to have confidence to go interstate this summer, we desperately need a mutually-agreed-upon set of parameters for border closures, to allow visitors the best chance to make informed decisions. How many cases before borders close? How long before they'll open again? Will quarantine be at home or in a hotel? We really need the states to work together on this.

Relax the rules

It's been great to see this happening already in some places: Melbourne, for example, allowing more outdoor dining to help restaurants coming out of lockdown. But for those who usually take their holidays overseas, Australia can still seem like a very rule-heavy place. Where are the beachfront bars, you wonder, where you can wriggle your toes in the sand while drinking a beer? Where's the freedom to buy a drink from a pub and take it with you onto the street? Where are the pop-up live music venues, outdoor spaces now desperately needed to support the industry? Where's the encouragement to do something as simple as ride a bike without risking a $425 fine for running a light? If you want people to travel, make it more fun.

What do you think needs to improve when it comes to the Australian tourism experience? What changes would you make? How do we tackle some of the seemingly unsolvable issues?

See also: How I bribed a border guard to get into the DRC

See also: I spent $1500 on lunch, and it was the weirdest meal of my life

Email: b.groundwater@traveller.com.au

Instagram: instagram.com/bengroundwater