WHILE SOME tourism businesses across Australia have seen an uptick in revenues from domestic visitors, many regional and remote tourism businesses and supply chain distributors with a dependency on international markets remain on a knife edge.

“Inbound tour operators (ITOs) have been the backbone of the export tourism industry, providing the conduit for millions of visitors coming to Australia each year,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.

“With the end of JobKeeper, international borders closed and no further support, 81 percent of ITO businesses will close and that will destroy Australia’s ability to quickly get back in the game once borders reopen.

“Thousands of Australian businesses rely on the economic activity delivered by international visitors and around half of those visitors have been delivered though international retail travel agents serviced by Australian based ITOs  --  we simply can't afford to lose their expertise, connections and experience.

“Australian based ITO businesses are the ‘on-the-ground’ network that understand the destination, they have established relationships with thousands of local tourism products and experiences from which they create tailored travel itineraries for international visitors."

Australia has traditionally had around 200 ITO businesses of varying sizes which support tourism businesses to connect with around 50 international markets. Mr Shelley said without them "we are likely to see the decimation of the Australian inbound travel distribution ecosystem".

“These are specialist businesses which have established unique commercial connections with travel wholesalers in our largest inbound markets around the world over half a century," he said.

"The recovery of inbound tourism will be driven by international travellers booking with retail travel agents who will provide security around booking flexibility and deposits, manage changes to travel arrangements if required and above all, provide guidance on COVID safe travel.

“Without a strong Australian ITO network, travel retailers will simply direct their travellers to other destinations which are easier to book and service, leaving Australia and thousands of tourism businesses high and dry."

www.atec.net.au

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“While we are heartened to see Australians travelling domestically, domestic tourism spend will never replace the billions of dollars in export revenue delivered by international visitors ,so it would be short sighted to rely on this current domestic enthusiasm to underpin the long term viability of our industry.
 
“Securing the future of a few hundred businesses and those that are the ‘connectors’ with international travellers, will be critical to our recovery and therefore an important short term investment in the future of our inbound tourism sector which will deliver enormous returns over future years.

CPA AUSTRALIA is calling for urgent financial support needed for businesses harmed by lockdowns.

Surveys by CPA Australia show that businesses cannot continue to absorb lockdown losses and severely impacted businesses need financial support to survive lockdowns.

CPA Australia is calling for Federal, State and Territory governments towork together to deliver a national response in which financial support becomes "standardised, scaleable, targeted and rapidly deployed".

CPA Australia chief executive officer, Andrew Hunter said future lockdowns are foreseeable "as we continue to deal with the impacts of COVID-19". However, businesses cannot continue to absorb losses created by snap lockdowns and border closures. 

“Most Australian states have implemented at least one snap lockdown," Mr Hunter said. "Each time, many businesses have experienced significant, unrecoverable losses.

“We’ve been living with COVID-19 for more than a year now. JobKeeper ends next month and we still don’t have a substitute for businesses that are compulsorily closed or those otherwise impacted by lockdowns, such as suppliers and customers outside the lockdown areas.

“We understand the need for swift action to control the spread of COVID-19. However, it seems businesses are being treated as an afterthought when making lockdown decisions. If governments are going to rip the rug out from under them at short notice, they need to provide a safety net.”

CPA Australia is calling on governments to work together to develop and deliver financial support to businesses severely impacted by lockdowns and is recommending:

• Standardised (consistent across jurisdictions)

• Scaleable (to the duration of each lockdown)

• Targeted (to severely impacted businesses)

• Rapidly deployed (in hours not days or weeks)

Mr Hunter said, “This is not a reaction to events in an individual state. The next lockdown could occur anywhere in Australia.

“Sympathy won’t pay for spoilt produce, cancelled bookings and empty chairs at empty tables. Businesses need more certainty – they need a coordinated national response that will deliver help fast when the next lockdown occurs.”

CPA Australia first proposed a standardised model of disaster support for businesses before the pandemic and reiterated calls for it in its 2021-22 Federal Budget Submission. Mr Hunter said the proposal was equally applicable to natural disasters such as bushfires and floods, as it is to the current circumstances.


About CPA Australia

CPA Australia is Australia’s professional accounting body and one of the largest in the world. CPA services more than 168,000 members in over 100 countries and regions, supported by 19 offices globally. Core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. CPA Australia engages with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes.  www.cpaaustralia.com.au

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CLASS ACTIONS AUSTRALIA is warning that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s intention to water down Australia’s stock market disclosure laws would weaken the economy by making it easier for company directors to "act poorly and dodge accountability".

Mr Frydenberg has announced the government’s intention to permanently relax stock market disclosure laws. The Treasurer had originally introduced the changes as a temporary measure to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

“Funny how the pandemic crisis has apparently abated enough to stop JobKeeper, but is still serious enough to warrant permanently watering down corporate responsibility,” Class Actions Australia spokesperson Ben Hardwick said.

“The ASX is about to hit an all-time high, and the Treasurer thinks it’s important to offer extra shields to company directors to avoid accountability. It’s madness.

“Australia’s robust stock market disclosure laws mean investors can operate from a position of knowledge," he said. "Australian directors know they have to be open with the market or they might be accountable to their investors through a class action. Josh Frydenberg is apparently uncomfortable with this situation.

“His plan to water down continuous disclose laws would advantage powerful company directors over mum and dad investors.”

Mr Hardwick said he thought it was unlikely the government’s new laws would make it through the Senate, because they were "not just morally wrong, but economically irresponsible".

“Robust disclosure requirements and class actions are our economy’s best friend,” Mr Hardwick said.

“If you truly believe in markets then you’ll consider transparency and accountability to be good things, because they allow investment to flow rationally. If, however, you prefer crony capitalism and protecting corporations from consequences then you’ll take a different view.

“Josh Frydenberg has revealed his hand with this decision, but I suspect the Senate crossbench may have greater integrity when it comes to defending the true interests of investors and our markets.

“The last thing we should want is for Australia to develop an international reputation as a jurisdiction that’s soft on corporate misbehaviour. That’s a surefire way to dry up investment.”

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CLASS ACTIONS AUSTRALIA is warning that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s intention to water down Australia’s stock market disclosure laws would weaken the economy by making it easier for company directors to "act poorly and dodge accountability".

Mr Frydenberg has announced the government’s intention to permanently relax stock market disclosure laws. The Treasurer had originally introduced the changes as a temporary measure to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

“Funny how the pandemic crisis has apparently abated enough to stop JobKeeper, but is still serious enough to warrant permanently watering down corporate responsibility,” Class Actions Australia spokesperson Ben Hardwick said.

“The ASX is about to hit an all-time high, and the Treasurer thinks it’s important to offer extra shields to company directors to avoid accountability. It’s madness.

“Australia’s robust stock market disclosure laws mean investors can operate from a position of knowledge," he said. "Australian directors know they have to be open with the market or they might be accountable to their investors through a class action. Josh Frydenberg is apparently uncomfortable with this situation.

“His plan to water down continuous disclose laws would advantage powerful company directors over mum and dad investors.”

Mr Hardwick said he thought it was unlikely the government’s new laws would make it through the Senate, because they were "not just morally wrong, but economically irresponsible".

“Robust disclosure requirements and class actions are our economy’s best friend,” Mr Hardwick said.

“If you truly believe in markets then you’ll consider transparency and accountability to be good things, because they allow investment to flow rationally. If, however, you prefer crony capitalism and protecting corporations from consequences then you’ll take a different view.

“Josh Frydenberg has revealed his hand with this decision, but I suspect the Senate crossbench may have greater integrity when it comes to defending the true interests of investors and our markets.

“The last thing we should want is for Australia to develop an international reputation as a jurisdiction that’s soft on corporate misbehaviour. That’s a surefire way to dry up investment.”

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