Brett Jardine, managing director of The Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO), has offered the organisation’s condolences to those affected by Australia’s worst bushfire season, while simultaneously committing CATO’s support to get behind inbound visitation and encourage Australians overseas ti promote the tourism opportunities back home.
“Our sincerest condolences go out to every family suffering through physical and emotional trauma, and also the many business owners and operators feeling the devastating effects of these natural disasters. The ongoing drought and recent fires will no doubt have a longer term impact on both Australia’s inbound and outbound travel sectors,” says Jardine.
According to CATO’s ‘Australians on Holiday – International Leisure Travel Trends’ report, Australian holidaymakers took more than 6 million overseas leisure trips in 2018 – a figure that represents roughly 25% of the country’s entire population.
Jardine believes this represents a significant advocacy opportunity for inbound tourism.
“Each of those travelling Australians is a potential advocate for everything Australia has to offer as an iconic tourist destination. Whether they’re chatting to locals over a beer in a British pub, part of a multi-nationality trekking group in Nepal, or skiing with foreigners in Japan, we encourage all travelling Australians to promote visitation downunder from all over the world.”
IMAGE: CATO managing director, Brett Jardine
