Still in limbo: Travel industry still hurting as borders stay shut

By Max Stainkamph

May 12, 2021

The New Zealand travel bubble may have opened, but pain continues for the travel industry as wary travellers still haven't turned back to travel agents to book holidays.

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And with the Federal Government no closer to knowing when the national borders will open — the latest projection in the budget was mid-2022 — the 18 months of pain already suffered by agents is set to continue.

Travel agents across the region are still feeling the pinch, as border closures make people wary of booking interstate trips.

One such agent is Mooroopna-based Lyn McNaught, who said it was a "dreadful" time for the travel industry.

While most other industries have regained some sense of normality, travellers are still shy about being bitten by border closures.

“Travellers are more fearful of being locked down than they are of the virus,” Ms McNaught said.

“State leaders shut everything down so quickly when there's a case."

She said she didn't buy into whispers this week the Federal Government could open borders by the end of the year, and wasn't holding out hope the Pacific would open up in a hurry.

Likewise, Ms McNaught is not holding her breath waiting for travel bubbles with Singapore and Japan — the latter of which is now suffering a fourth wave of COVID-19.

“It's dreadful, we've had no income now for 18 months . . . we're shuffling credit around (for people who have cancelled holidays), that's all we're doing,” she said.

Ms McNaught said she had booked just one trip of holiday-makers looking to head to New Zealand.

“Most of what's happening is people going back to see their families, and they don't go through travel agents for that,” she said.

“The problem is the time of year — it's winter. Most people don't go over there in winter unless they're skiers.

“Later in the year we might see a bit more of a surge.”

Ms McNaught said the only silver bullet to help end the industry's woes was international travel.

“We need Europe and England and America opening back up. Cruising still isn't allowed to start,” she said.

“The biggest problem is (uncertainty around) the vaccine. No-one knows if they'll stop the spread of COVID as well as protecting people."

Until then, uncertainty will rule for the travel industry.