Sydney, 02nd December 2020

Dr Fiona Martin MP
Federal Member for Reid

Dear Dr Martin.

RE: Announcement of tailored support for the Travel Industry

Thank you for your email of 01st December. 2020 confirming the recent Federal Government announcement of tailored industry support to the Travel Agency community.

On behalf of my company and in fact the entire travel industry, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for this support.

We certainly understand that COVID-19 has impacted all business sectors and whilst we are sure that every industry has faced challenges, we would argue that our industry is by far the hardest hit. Not only have travel restrictions decimated the industry by inhibiting our ability to trade, the compounding factor of refunding any income that was earnt last financial year has quite seriously brought our industry to the proverbial cliff edge.

The Morrison Government’s announcement of the financial assistance package has simply edged our industry out of the darkness and into the light. Whilst we are not naïve to think that our road ahead will not be difficult, we can categorically say that without this assistance, the road was nigh on impossible to navigate.

It is heartening to see that Government at all levels is listening to its constituents and while there may well be naysayers as it is not possible to please everyone, you have our absolute gratitude in the issuing of this funding.

We would also like to acknowledge the enormous work undertaken by Mr Darren Rudd, CEO of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents. His tireless efforts in presenting industry reports and data has certainly gone to ensuring a clear understanding is obtained by Treasury and various other elements of Government.

Finally, thank you to you personally for advocating for both my company and industry. It is not only very much appreciated, it also shows that when an issue is sound in merit, our representatives are willing to take up the cause.

Again, Thank you.

Yours Faithfully,