Domestic tourism boost, Warrnambool travel agency busy

Flight Centre Warrnambool senior consultant Josh Campbell said with all domestic borders open, travel inquiries were the highest they had been in 12 months.

"Tourism has had it tough and it's changing everyday," he said. "But this is the first time all the borders have been open in 11 months, people can go anywhere and the demand is high."

READ MORE:

Mr Campbell said in November, Flight Centre Warrnambool was booking around 30 holidays a month, but so far this month the travel agency had booked 80.

Mr Campbell said the spike in demand was due to the government's travel incentives and the re-opening of the Western Australian border.

"Queensland and the Northern Territory had been the destinations of choice, but since the Western Australian Premier opened the borders people are going to see their families," he said.

"The past 12 months have been the hardest of my career so far. In the beginning we were helping families fly home; I had one family from Brazil who I was on the phone to at 2am.

"But since Darwin opened up in November, it's picked up. People are booking and Australia's domestic tourism continues to grow."

MORE READS:

Car and motorhome hiring have proven incredibly popular for the travel agency, with many south-west clients choosing to fly up north and drive to multiple destinations on their holiday.

Mr Campbell said the domestic tourism market was changing, but with that change came great excitement.

"People are wanting to see something different and they're changing the way they travel," he said.

"We don't have a particular demographic of client, but I think people are coming to travel agents more because if something happens or borders suddenly shut, they know we can act on their holidays straight away.

"People are wanting to explore their own backyard, and that's exciting."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Listen to the latest episode of our weekly podcast The Booletin and Beyond:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.