About one in five restaurant bookings in Sydney is being cancelled by diners afraid of catching Covid or being forced into isolation before Christmas – and the Omicron effect on travel is even worse, with four out of five Australians having either cancelled their summer holiday travel plans or still considering cancellation, according to a new survey.
Half of all Australians have no confidence in travelling interstate, the survey commissioned by the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) indicates. The results coincided with another milestone: NSW recorded over 3000 new cases of Covid-19 in a single day yesterday. The exact figure was 3057. On Wednesday, 3763 new cases were reported. Thursday’s total was 5715.
As case numbers soar, Covid has become a political football, with medical experts calling for the reintroduction of indoor mask mandates and QR code check-ins in NSW – while politicians, particularly those on the conservative side, are determined to tough it out. The travel industry – and travellers – yearn for certainty, or at least an end to constant changes. Nobody wants more lockdowns.
AMONG LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
A survey commissioned by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) found 62% of potential passengers said they were discouraged from flying around the country by the risk of state and territory governments suddenly slamming borders shut again.
AAA chief executive James Goodwin said more than half of the survey’s respondents were concerned about being placed into lockdown and losing money on flights and accommodation.
At the same time, TTF chief executive Margy Osmond has warned of a plunge in travel confidence triggered by the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Omicron is a serious concern “for a tourism industry which has lost the last four school holiday periods in a row to travel restrictions and lockdowns in one or more of our major capitals,” she says.
“The tourism sector is now more than ever relying on a strong December/January holiday period to drive recovery and this setback will provide more pain just as operators and the aviation industry were preparing for a bumper summer.”
A TTF national survey of 1500 people conducted by polling company Pure Profile revealed that the concerns of three in 10 Australians had increased following the emergence of Omicron, with the same number either cancelling or postponing their travel plans while seven out of 10 are waiting for more information before making a decision.
In good news for regional tourism operators, however, almost 80% of those surveyed said they were planning to travel within their own state. The drive holiday is a likely popular choice, with more travellers now reluctant to take the risk of having to go into quarantine should they come into contact with Covid-positive travellers during their journey.
Western Australia and Queensland topped the list of states most likely to shut their borders at short notice. Lack of consistency in rules between states and territories and fear of not being able to get home are the main factors depressing travel confidence.
“This could not have come at a worse time, with state border restrictions easing, some of the best flight deals we have seen available this summer and a last-minute surge in interstate travel bookings now in jeopardy,” Osmond said.
In Sydney – which currently takes the unenviable title of Australia’s Covid epicentre – many people are reluctant to dine out, knowing that unvaccinated people and those not wearing masks may now be wandering among them.
THE LONG-TERM SEVERITY of the new, fast-spreading Omicron strain remains unknown. Indications are that it could be milder than its predecessors. In Australia and many other Western countries, unvaccinated people constitute only about 10% to 15% of the population, yet they make up to 80% or 90% of those hospitalised with Covid.
A couple of days ago, Elliot Solomon, chief executive of Solotel, which operates 24 bars and restaurants across Sydney and Brisbane, was quoted as saying his group had lost – in just two days – 20% of its bookings across its pubs, bars and restaurants, up to end of this year.
Despite elements of optimism as 2022 approaches, the general mood is downbeat. A special Roy Morgan web survey (conducted in late November) shows only 37% of Australians think 2022 will be ‘better’ than 2021, a full 22% points down from when the same question was asked a year ago in late 2020. This could change if Omicron proves to be significantly less virulent than earlier Covid strains.
MEANWHILE, IN AN OMICRON-INSPIRED BLOW TO TRAVEL TO NEW ZEALAND, that country yesterday announced an extension of its border restrictions with Australia, pushing back the prospect of quarantine-free travel from Australia from 17 January 2022 to the end of February.
The NZ government will work with airlines to ensure some managed quarantine hotel space is available for those who have booked to fly from Australia to New Zealand from 17 January 2022.
Kiwi Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins acknowledged the decision would disappoint, but said it would allow more time for the rollout of boosters.
“Certainty is hard to provide in an uncertain situation,” Hipkins told New Zealand’s RNZ News.
“With the march of Omicron – and New South Wales now expecting to record 25,000 cases a day by the end of January – opening the border in mid-January as planned simply presents too high a risk at this point.”
THAILAND has confirmed it will also stop allowing quarantine-free visits, in light of the global spread of Omicron.
Back in Australia, the situation in New South Wales is bizarre. Mandatory indoor masks and check-ins have been abandoned in many places, possibly for philosophical reasons, just as Covid cases surge. Pubs, clubs and other ‘high-risk’ venues still have mandatory QR code check-ins, but restaurants and retail outlets don’t.
On Sunday there were 261 Covid-19 patients in hospital in NSW – up from 227 – and 33 people in intensive care. By Tuesday this had jumped to 284 cases admitted to hospital, with 39 people in intensive care, 11 of whom were breathing through ventilators. On Wednesday, the number of cases in hospital was 302; on Thursday it was 347, with 45 people in intensive care.
Under NSW public health orders updated last week, vaccinated close contacts must isolate for seven days.
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid is very concerned about the number of Australians being infected with the new Omicron strain.
“There’s a lot still to be learned about Omicron, and we are urging a cautious approach to follow the lessons that we have learnt,” he told the ABC.
Sharon Lewin, the Doherty Institute director who advised on the national plan to roll back public health restrictions, called for the return of mask-wearing indoors and suggested large gatherings at pubs and nightclubs be stopped.
Queensland and Tasmania have reintroduced mask mandates in recent days.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet won’t hear of mandates, saying it is time for “personal responsibility”.
“We are treating the people of our state like adults,” he said on Monday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison agrees with Perrottet’s sentiment. The matter will be raised at a National Cabinet meeting today.
A visit to some NSW retail outlets yesterday indicates that while most shoppers are wearing masks, many are not.
Written by Peter Needham
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