For travel agents across the region, the past three months have been one step forward, two steps back.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Regional Victoria was plunged into another lockdown on Saturday, a cycle that keeps piling pressure on Victoria's embattled tourism sector.
The travel industry was one of the first industries to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic, and will in all likliehood be one of the last to recover.
For iTalk Travel's Anne Taylor, the hope that was present at the beginning of the year for a rebound in the travel industry is fast evaporating.
"It's probably worse than it was last year," she said.
READ MORE:
"There's just nothing. I think people have just totally lost faith in booking or planning to travel at the moment, just because of all the uncertainty with closures and lockdowns."
When the Mail-Times last spoke to Ms Taylor, things were picking up for travel agents, with restrictions loosening and the travel bubble with New Zealand not far away.
However, the toll of lockdowns four, five, six and now seven in regional Victoria has meant that hope has largely faded among clients, Ms Taylor said.
"I'm really feeling a change with people saying, 'look we're just not going to re-book until next year'; when things might be a little more assured as far as closures go," she said.
"That's the hope at the moment. It's really just this last round, I can really feel a difference in people's resilience to think 'oh, we'll give it a go'... I think that's just sort of disappeared at the moment. "
"It's really hit the industry hard. The last lockdown, lockdown 5, happened during school holidays. A lot of people had bookings to go to Queensland and Darwin. (Cancelling those trips) just flattened everybody.
"Definitely 'here we go again', going through the process of having to cancel again, or put trips onto credit. People in the industry really struggle with that."
Ms Taylor said the uncertainty was one of the main drivers in stopping people from travelling, even when lockdowns aren't in place.
"With the constant opening and closing, people are just putting (travel) on the backburner. People are worried about getting somewhere and having to quarantine when they get there, and then when they get home as well," she said.
"If you've got two weeks holiday from work, you can't afford to have another two weeks in isolation. "
MORE NEWS:
The emotional toll on travel agents like Ms Taylor isn't just from the cancellations, but also the constant changes in rules and regulations regarding travel.
Travel agents have to be on top on of every new regulation or rule change.
"The amount of emails we get through, constant adjustments to schedules and policies... is just a nightmare. The stop start nature of it," she said.
"Nothing everyone was hoping for has come to fruition. Until vaccination rates are up (travel) isn't really going to happen.
"There's not many options at the moment.... we're looking to 2022 realistically, before anything is going to happen."
But by then, the COVID-19 pandemic may have done irreparable damage to the travel industry, Ms Taylor fears.
Many agents, herself included, have had to work a second job, or lost their job entirely.
How many will return if and when international travel resumes?
But despite the trying times, Ms Taylor hasn't left the industry just yet and hopes it will bounce back in the future.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/