Tourism Central Australia is holding Qantas to account for its high cost of flights to and from Alice Springs, which could spell disaster for the livability of the tourism hub.
Skyrocketing airfares and a significant reduction in the number of seats to and from Alice Springs has put the livability of the town and its tourism industry at risk, the region's peak tourism authority says.The fare increases as well as reduced services are affecting the outback town's viabilityTourism Central Australia chief executive Danial Rochford said prices have been hovering at about $1,000 one way to major ports, including Darwin.
He has described the current tourist season as unprecedented, after several years of grim visitation rates due to the pandemic."We're in a situation at the moment where I can see flights out of Brisbane to Fiji [are cheaper than to Alice Springs]," Mr Rochford said. Mr Rochford said that due to its remote location, the Central Australian tourism industry relied heavily on visitors being able to fly in."This is a real kick in the guts."Earlier this year, Qantas cut the direct flight between Alice Springs and Perth from its offerings.
Mr Rochford said the latter decision would result in 300 fewer seats to the region per week, with a total loss of 30,000 seats annually."The airlines are putting a restraint on their capacity and that's obviously for operational reasons," he said.Mr Rochford said the fare price hike could be the slippery slope to an eventual axing of the route."Over the years [Qantas] has slowly retracted.
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