‘We’re a little bit ridiculed’: Fears Australia will miss out on tourism dollars, even when border reopens | michaelkoziol
Australia has been “a little bit ridiculed” around the world for its strict COVID-19 border closures and rules and could fail to regain its share of global tourism dollars even when the border reopens in a fortnight, the head of Tourism Australia has warned.
“It’s the whole ‘fortress Australia’ concept. People just don’t understand why they’re shut out, why they can’t reconnect with family and friends, why they can’t come here to study. As the rest of the world opens up I think there is even less understanding of that right now,” she told this masthead. The federal government began reopening the border in November with the return of international students and migrants. Tourists may enter from February 21 as long as they are double vaccinated.as proof this rule would be strictly enforced. “Events earlier in the year should have sent a very clear message to everyone around the world that that is the requirement to enter into Australia,” he said on Monday.
As the main gateway to Australia it was imperative for Sydney to lead the reopening, Ms Harrison said, but the NSW capital sometimes suffered from complacency while Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide were gaining market share as ports of entry. The Business Council of Australia welcomed the national cabinet’s decision to reopen the border and declared it “the end of fortress Australia”, but criticised WA for remaining closed and urged Premier Mark McGowan to set a date and stick to it.
Other panellists at the Sydney Summit event were concerned the “fortress Australia” mindset had changed the country’s identity. Former race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane, now a professor at Sydney University, said reopening was as much a mental shift as a policy one.
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