TRAVEL
Australia is Open For Business
The bushfires have been devastating, but our continent is not ‘on fire’
My country is grieving. We have lost nearly 30 of our people in the fires. The preliminary estimate is that the wildlife toll will exceed one billion.
People have lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods.
We are deeply touched by the worldwide outpouring of grief and financial support.
We are so grateful.
It’s in times of tragedy that the people of our amazing nation pull together and the Australian spirit overcomes crippling adversity.
Sensationalist news reporting is hurting us
Can I share with you that we are also a little frustrated?
Yes, we have never seen bushfires this bad.
But our country is not ‘on fire’.
Let me put it in perspective.
Australia has an area of 7,692 million square kilometers. Converted to miles for our US friends, that is nearly 3,000 million square miles. That’s more than three quarters the size of the US.
It’s a big country.
The bushfires have affected 130,000 square kilometers of land (about 50,000 square miles).
It’s a lot. But the vast majority of our great nation is not affected.
All our cities are open for business.
Every international airport is open.
You can still visit the Daintree Rainforest, the Kimberleys, the Gold & Sunshine Coasts, the Great Barrier Reef, Whitsunday Islands, Sydney, Melbourne and Uluru just to name a few.
You will still see Kangaroos and Koalas, the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Thanks to unexpected and widespread rain, our air quality is back to it’s usual high quality levels.
We have so much to offer. There is no reason not to come.
There are questions to be answered
We need to take a long hard look at what we are doing to our planet. I agree. I believe that this disaster will bring change.
Better late than never.
Bookings have plummeted
But in the meantime we are hurting. Our people are hurting.
Tourism bookings from the US, UK and Europe are down by 20%. This means people that have already lost so much may lose their employment or businesses.
It’s a blow we don’t need.
Cancelling or changing your plans is an unnecessary ‘knee-jerk’ reaction.
It hurts us when we are already down.
Australia is open for business
We love our nation, and are ready to show you around.
The best way you can help us is to visit us.
We can’t wait to see you.
