Tourism Australia has brought together the key safety information, travel restrictions and guidelines from across the country into the one centralised resource to help make travel planning easier for Aussies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the states and territories re-opening in different ways, each jurisdiction is providing location-specific information, but there is currently no centralised resource that provides information for Australia as a whole.
The ‘Australian COVID Travel Portal’ will provide information about where people can and cannot travel around Australia, what they can and cannot do, and details of relevant COVID-safe measures that are now in place in relation to transport, hotels and accommodation, activities and experiences.
The initial focus of the new tool is on domestic intrastate and interstate travel, but Tourism Australia intends to extend it to international visitors once international borders reopen.
Similar to the organisation’s ‘Bushfire Safety Map’ and ‘Australian Travel Safety Map’, Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said the new portal would give Aussies the confidence to plan and book a domestic holiday and help them travel around the country safely.
“One of the significant changes that we’ve seen in consumer behaviour as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak is, unsurprisingly, a heightened awareness around health concerns, hygiene and physical distancing,” she said.
“As Australians begin to travel again, it is crucial that travellers feel confident to holiday safely, and that tourism businesses and their communities are ready to welcome them warmly, but also safely.
“We want travellers to know it’s safe to travel and show how the Australian tourism industry is putting in place the highest standards and stringent COVIDSafe measures to ensure their wellbeing and safety at every point in the customer journey.
“The portal will provide up-to-date, practical information relating to all aspects of travel in the one place to help people better navigate all of the different COVID-19 restrictions.”
