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Following Virgin Australia having entered administration, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has shared its consideration that Australia needs a diverse, competitive and sustainable airline environment in order to return tourism to its successful place in the Australian economy.

ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley notes "the entire tourism industry has ground to a halt and that's affected close to 1 million industry jobs across Australia, many in regional communities.

"While international visitor arrivals are some time away, the industry is holding its breath and waiting for the day Australian's can start to travel domestically. Without affordable and accessible domestic air routes tourism's hopes for recovery will be bleak.

"Domestic and international tourism combined delivered $146 billion to the economy last year and the loss of one of our major airlines will have catastrophic flow-on impacts that will ultimately also see our international capacity damaged."

"After bushfires, floods and a pandemic, Australian tourism needs a break. To be hit with another huge setback will severely impact the industry's road to recovery, especially for regional Australia where air access is the lifeblood of the tourism industry." 

Image: Ningaloo whale shark festival courtesy of Tourism WA (for illustrative purposes only)

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