NSW and Vic hotels and accommodation providers welcome border reopening

THE Accommodation Association has welcomed NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s announcement on the re-opening of the border between NSW and Victoria on November 23.
 
With many of the Association's member hotels struggling this year in the wake of the devastating bushfires and COVID-19, the reopening date will kickstart demand as travellers can begin making plans and booking their holidays. This border announcement will also have a significant economic impact on regional and rural communities.

“The Association welcomes the opening of the border to Victoria by NSW," Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long said. "The return of business from Victoria is vital for the continuing recovery of the NSW accommodation sector, particularly in lieu of the continued closure of international borders.

“Even with these restrictions beginning to finally lift, the future remains challenging for Sydney and Melbourne-based hotels that are reliant on international and corporate travel.
 
“We have been reinforcing to all State and Territory governments that certainty around borders will be critical to the recovery of our sector, and this date is an important step in that recovery process. We need our governments to work together so that when borders open it is managed in a safe and sustainable way that provides long term confidence to travellers so they feel comfortable making bookings again.”

Members have COVID safe plans in place, and are asking holidaymakers to start booking short stays to safeguard hundreds of thousands of Australian accommodation sector jobs.

Victoria is NSW’s largest interstate market representing 15 percent of visitor nights and 16 percent of expenditure into the state. The Accommodation Association represents close to 3,500 hotels, over 150,000 rooms and nearly 100,000 employees across Australia and over 500 operators in Victoria. Accommodation contributes $17 billion to the Australian economy and $1.5 billion to the Victorian economy.

 

The Accommodation Association

The Accommodation Association represents over 80 percent of all known accommodation providers from small regional parks, caravan parks, serviced apartments and resorts through to the largest hotel groups in the world including Accor, Hilton, Wyndham Destinations and IHG.

www.aaoa.com.au/About-Us/The-Association

 

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