Australia Is Reopening and Tour Operators Are Prepared

The Australian government's announcement earlier this month that the country would reopen to fully vaccinated overseas tourists from Monday on was long overdue good news for its travel industry. Businesses have lost roughly $72 billion in revenue since the start of the pandemic due to border closures that one executive said brought the sector to its knees.

Tour operators running trips in Australia particularly hit hard by travel curbs were among the biggest beneficiaries of the decision since they could finally welcome back the large numbers of overseas guests their businesses have been heavily dependent on.

But what steps have those companies taken to make their Australia offerings more appealing to prospective international guests? Many of them are developing new itineraries showcasing rural areas of the country and destinations they largely hadn't featured before to attract the growing number of travelers worldwide eager to visit less-crowded spaces since the start of the pandemic. Research conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization revealed that rural tourism would emerge as a major travel trend shaping up in 2022.