On March 19 last year, Perth tour guide Phil Dong was still showing the beauty of the city to Chinese tourists, but what happened behind caught him off guard. Two days later, as the outbreak worsened, Australia closed its doors to all non-citizens and non-residents. While vaccinations are being promoted around the world, a new report this week shows that most Chinese tourists are reluctant to travel abroad, and what will happen to Australia's tourism industry, which has been greatly affected?
Philip Dong, who has changed careers, misses working as a tour guide for Chinese tourists. (Photo/Web page screenshot)
Chinese tourists are more inclined to travel domestically
The Australian Broadcasting Network reported on the 26th, "I didn't expect that it was the last time I saw tourists from China." Philip, who immigrated to Australia 20 years ago, said, "I know what's happening on the East Coast [the outbreak], but I didn't expect it to get worse so quickly." Philip, who joined the tourism industry in 2017, said that the large spending of Chinese tourists over the years has driven Australia's tourism boom.
However, a China Outbound Tourism Report released this week by the China Tourism Research Institute showed that the majority of Chinese citizens (83%) are only willing to travel to countries with no new cases, and 82% of respondents said that in the near future, they are more willing to choose domestic travel than to go abroad. The survey also found that 72% of Chinese were reluctant to fly for safety reasons.
The report also said that although the number of Chinese outbound tourists has increased by 25% this year, there is still "great uncertainty" in 2022, and outbound tourism depends largely on the control of the epidemic.
De la Zhang, China market manager at Rochford Wines, called for a complete opening of the border to China. (Photo/Web page screenshot)
Australian businesses want to open their borders to China
The report leaves a frightening outlook for the Australian economy and businesses that rely on Chinese tourists, including businesses in Melbourne's northeast Yarra Valley. "We receive tourists from all over the world, most of them from China." Della Zhang, China market manager at Rochford Wines, said, "Since the pandemic, our international visitor numbers have dropped to zero because of border closures. ”
De la said that while the return of Chinese students next month would bring some comfort, she would like to see Australia fully open its borders to China and "Chinese tourists are very important to our business".
Lost business travel practitioners seek transformation
There are concerns that even if international travellers return on a large scale, Australia's tourism industry may not be ready for them immediately, as the prolonged border closure has forced professional tour operators such as Philip to withdraw from the industry and look for work elsewhere.
According to Philip, this is a very common phenomenon for Chinese tourism practitioners, and many of his colleagues have changed careers. Philip currently works in the construction industry and often misses working as a tour guide for Chinese travelers, but for the foreseeable future, he does not plan to return to his original job. "I'm happy with my current job, the salary is higher, and I don't have to work anymore on weekends." He said.
Some of the senior Chinese and Australian tour guides, drivers and travel agents interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Network have also turned to Uber drivers, real estate agents, other occupations or retirements.
Simon Chen, a representative of Sydney's Chinatown merchants, said he could not immediately prepare tourists. (Photo/Web page screenshot)
Tourism cannot be prepared immediately
Tourism and Transport Forum Australia research also shows that more tourism companies are having to lay off workers than in other industries, and the shortage of employees is expected to far exceed the current operating restrictions. And according to CEO Margy Osmond, this is not only happening in the Chinese market. "In many professional markets, language is a key issue, as is high-level cultural understanding." She said.
"At the moment we don't have enough capacity to accommodate the return of tourists." Simon Chan, a representative of Sydney's Chinatown businesses and chairman of the Haymarket Chamber of Commerce, also said, "We do need to support businesses and encourage them to make commitments and return to businesses to provide infrastructure to meet the needs of tourists." ”
Steele hopes to implement China's travel bubble plan soon. (Photo/Web page screenshot)
The Queensland guys called for a travel bubble
While the Australian Medicines Agency (TGA) recognises two Chinese-made vaccines that benefit Chinese tourists travelling to Australia, the bilateral relationship has made it difficult for top leaders to engage in high-level dialogue on trade and tourism.
That hit Justin Steele, who runs a travel agency Aussie You Tours in Sydney. Steele, from Queensland, learned Chinese and Chinese culture from an early age and received scholarships to travel to China to promote cultural exchanges among young people. He started his business in 2018 and focuses on bilingual tourism in Australian culture, attracting many young Chinese millennials.
He said that given the high vaccination rates between Australia and China, he hoped to implement China's travel bubble plan soon. "I think Chinese tourists will come back, even the number of people before the pandemic, I'm not sure, but I hope so." But it could take a few years for those numbers to really start to pick up to their original levels. (Noy compiles)