Time to plan a getaway! Domestic travel between states tipped to be up and running by July
- Tourism minister hopeful domestic interstate travel will be eased in two months
- National cabinet will meet on Friday to discuss the lifting of travel restrictions
- Tourism Australia have launched a campaign to inspire domestic wanderlust
- But officials warn the economic recovery from coronavirus will be long and slow
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Australia's Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham (pictured) is hopeful the restrictions on domestic interstate travel will be eased by the next school holiday break in July
Australia's tourism minister is hopeful the restrictions on domestic interstate travel will be eased by the next school holiday break in July.
Simon Birmingham said the economic recovery from the devastating coronavirus crisis is likely to be long and slow, but if Australia's infection rate continues to remain low he expects a staggered easing of state and territory border controls.
The national cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, is expected to draw up a road map for relaxing travel restrictions on Friday.
'I would hope the current trend of very low new coronavirus case numbers across the country will enable freer movements by the time we get to next school holidays,' he told The Australian Financial Review on Thursday.
'That again may still be a state by state proposition. The states applied border restrictions at different times and applied restrictions on movements in different ways and to different degrees.
'I suspect they will lift them in different ways and at different times too.'
Australians may get the opportunity to catch some winter sun as state and federal governments flag the possibility of a return to normal for domestic travel. Pictured: A woman sunbaths on a Whitsundays beach
Thredbo village ski resort in Australia's Snowy Mountains (pictured) could be one of the major winners if Australians start to book winter holidays
Regional communities have suffered a double blow with the devastating bushfire crisis followed by the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: Sunseekers relax at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast
While there have been a total of 6894 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia including 97 deaths, the rate of infection has declined dramatically over the past month due to state border controls and strict social distancing measures.
There were 529 new cases at the height of Australia's outbreak on March 29, but in the past 24-hours just 19 new infections have been reported.
Western Australia and South Australia have recorded no new cases in over a week, while the Northern Territory has had just two infections in over 21 days.
With international travel looking to be off the agenda until at least 2021, Tourism Australia has already put a plan in motion to inspire Australians to take a holiday in regional areas hard-hit by both the bushfires and the coronavirus lockdown.
Starting May 15 with a one-hour broadcast at 7:30pm on Network Ten's The Project, Tourism Australia will launch the 'Live from Aus' advertising campaign to stir-up domestic wanderlust.
'Even though demand for travel is currently on hold and the timing of the recovery is still uncertain, it's important that we don't go quiet as a destination,' Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said.
'While people can't travel right now, they can certainly dream and plan for those holidays to come.'
Ms Harrison said her job right now is about keeping Australia front of mind for travellers by using this enforced period of self-isolation to engage with people in their living rooms, feed their escapism and inspire them to travel again once the restrictions start to lift.
Starting May 15 with a one-hour broadcast at 7:30pm on The Project on Network Ten, Tourism Australia will launch the 'Live from Aus' advertising campaign to stir-up domestic wanderlust
Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said 'while people can't travel right now, they can certainly dream and plan for those holidays to come'
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is also confident that domestic operations could return to normal by July.
On Wednesday he said the flying kangaroo has become the envy of the aviation world given the country's low infection rate and interstate travel market.
'I don't think there is any other airline in the world that has a market that is more positive than what we have,' he told reporters.
While the airline will stay grounded for another two months, he said the carrier will remain on stand-by for a short notice return if the situation eases faster than expected.
'Australia has done an amazing job of flattening the curve and we're optimistic that domestic travel will start returning earlier than first thought,' he said.
But Mr Joyce also warned 'we clearly won't be back to pre-coronavirus levels anytime soon.'
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