Ep 102: Destination 2022: Australia Gets Ready to Reopen - What Happens Next?, with Simon Westaway

Australia is reconnecting with the world, but how will its phased travel revival take shape?

Certainly, Australia will be a coveted destination for tourism, family visits and business trips from South East Asia, and nations across the region will look forward to welcoming back Australian visitors.

So in Part 3 of our Destination 2022 series, we head Down Under. Gary discusses the outlook for all aspects of inbound, outbound and domestic travel with Melbourne-based Simon Westaway, Strategy Director at Royce Communications, who recently completed a 2-year spell as Executive Director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council.

In a broad-ranging chat, Gary and Simon address the key pandemic learnings for Australian travel and tourism, ranging from the impact of domestic state border closures to the collapse of air travel and decimation of the cruise sector.

Now, as Australia’s new era of travel commences, which destinations will airlines prioritise for inbound and outbound travel?

Where will China and India fit into the nation’s near- and long-term travel landscape?

And what about Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other South East Asian markets?

What’s the outlook for the Australia-New Zealand Travel Bubble?

And, given how deeply Australia’s visitor economy has been impacted over the past two years, what are realistic expectations for the year ahead?