Tourism industry launches ‘Holiday Here’ campaign in the wake of massive cancellations

Tourism groups are urging Australians to start planning holidays and weekend trips around the country, as the industry suffers under “massive cancellations”.

Many overseas visitors, confronted by the imagery of the fires that have ravaged parts of New South Wales and Victoria, have cancelled trips.

Local operators are also feeling the pinch.

Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism and Transport Forum, Margy Osmond, urged people to start planning holidays locally.

“Preferably bushfire affected areas that can accept visitors,” she said.

“It’s about looking for those areas that have had a terrible time and reinstating a holiday you may have cancelled.

“This is a bit like the empty esky community campaign – put an empty esky in the car, head off somewhere for the weekend and fill it up with great produce and products from a regional area and come on home.”

Tourism Australia has launched a $20 million campaign to get Australians to plan domestic holidays.

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Ms Osmond said international tourism has also suffered.

“As you quite rightly point out, there are 23 or 24 designated international destinations probably only 6 of those are in any way impacted by the fires,” she said.

“We are getting massive cancellations at places like Uluru, for goodness sake.

“Because people perceive because of social media, that the whole country is on fire, top to bottom, coast to coast.”

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