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Simon McGrath, CEO of Accor Pacific, has warned that hotels will soon be closed in all Australian states and territories without financial support from the government.
“Industry-wide plans to suspend and close hotels are accelerating rapidly today due to lack of government support.” McGrath said Australian person. “Business owners are at the limit and will be closed. Many have no way to keep going beyond September.
Accor operates a variety of hotel brands, including Grand Mercure, Mantra, Novotel and Ibis.
“The dispute between the state and federal governments over opening the border has more impact on the tourism industry than any other industry,” McGrath said. “We are calling on the federal government to set a start date to resolve these differences and put an end to current uncertainty.”
In a letter to the federal government, McGrath said hotels operating outside the COVID hotspot are suffering because people in Sydney and Melbourne have been banned from traveling.
“Financial bailouts must come from lack of income, not the definition of hotspots,” he wrote in a letter, and the tourism industry is now in a worse state compared to April 2020. He added.
As the border closure progresses towards 18 months, the tourism industry has become heavily dependent on domestic tourism.
However, residents of the populous eastern provinces were hesitant to travel due to numerous sudden blockades in Victoria and Melbourne, making the question of whether they could go home uncertain.
Meanwhile, New South Wales has an eight-week blockade limit, which has been extended for another four weeks today.
according to Numbers Australia was one of the best performing countries earlier this year, according to STR, a global data and analytics group, but hotel occupancy declined rapidly after the blockade began.
During the week from July 26th to August 1st, Sydney reported an occupancy of just under 16%. This is the lowest weekly level in 2021.
STR Pacific Regional Manager Matthew Burke said on August 6 that “new and extended limits in recent outbreaks have undoubtedly affected performance in recent weeks.” .. It meant that many trips were simply impossible. “
The Northern Territory (NT) had the highest hotel occupancy in the country during the same week, at 65%. However, the territory was subsequently closed and Treasury Secretary Josh Frydenberg began offering $ 9 million. support To the tourism industry.
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