Travel agents given $128 million shot in the arm

A combination of temporary closures, limited trade due to travel restrictions, and processing cancellations and refunds has left the industry on a knife edge, especially for smaller, independent operators.

Under the $128 million scheme, eligible travel agents with a turnover of between $50,000 and $20 million per year will be able to apply for the one off payment.

Payments will be scaled, with a minimum payment of $1500 for a business with a turnover of $50 000 up to a maximum payment of $100,000 for a business with a turnover of $20 million.

Federal Tourism Minister, Simon Birmingham, said that the payments recognised the exceptional circumstances that travel agents continue to operate in.

"This one off payment is in addition to our significant economic support for the tourism and travel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to assist hundreds of thousands of tourism businesses across Australia," he said.

Robert Thornberry, Senior Consultant at Signature Travel Orange, said the payments were a great idea.

"Most of our income comes from international trips, so between not being able to make any new bookings, plus having to cancel and refund existing bookings, it really has made things difficult," he said.

"With the state borders opening we are starting to see a lot of interest in domestic travel so hopefully with increased revenue from there, coupled with the one-off government payments, we will begin to see a lift in business and start getting back to some kind of normal operations."

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents is the peak industry body that represents the business interests of travel agents and CEO Darren Rudd said they were grateful that the government had acknowledged the unique circumstances that the industry has been confronted with.

"It's been an incredibly challenging year for everyone in our sector but now we move into a new period - one of transformation, consolidation and growth," he said.

"This milestone is the result of many people working together during this difficult time, including our travel agents, who have been going above and beyond to do what they can to process travel credits and refunds for Australians over the past ten months, despite having to return the commissions earned on these sales."

Director of Panorama Travel, Caroline Sage, said that while agents still aren't sure how much they will receive, any help is appreciated.

"The payments will definitely help us keep the doors open," she said.

"We have taken a massive hit having to refund a lot of bookings while at the same time not being able to make any.

"We still have bills coming in such as rent, electricity and staff wages, so financial support is needed, especially for smaller agents."

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.