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Highlights
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the overseas travel data for October 2021.
- Western Australia is expected to open interstate and international borders from 5 February 2022.
- Stocks of major travel players were down following the release of international travel data.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently released a new set of data on overseas arrivals and departures for October 2021. As per the ABS, Australia recorded an increase in the total number of people flowing out of the country and a decrease in the number of incoming migrants in October. The total arrivals plummeted by 3,110 trips while departures increased by 6,490 trips over the month. The reports came in a day after domestic restrictions were eased in Queensland.
Vanuatu was the largest source nation, accounting for most of the visitor arrivals in October (440 trips), followed by the UK with 350 trips and the Philippines with 340 trips.
Notably, the Omicron variant has been a cause of much concern among travellers. News of rising cases in Australia has been more than sufficient in spreading fear among international travellers. Overall, the impact of the pandemic has been massively felt on the Australian travel sector in 2020-21.
Australia observed 150,880 visitor arrivals in 2020-21, which was 97.8 per cent lower than the previous year. Even though the holidays are approaching nearer, the Christmas cheer appears to be slightly dampening out amid Omicron fears, paving the way for another weakness in overseas arrivals and departures numbers.
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Are good times waiting ahead?
The Australian government has kept international students and immigrants waiting with repeated delays surrounding the reopening of borders. However, some improvement in the number of travellers into the country is expected to arise once the country fully opens to international tourists and eases domestic restrictions completely.
Of all Australian states, Western Australia has been sealed shut from the rest of the world for nearly two years. The isolation is expected to end on 5 February 2022, when international and interstate travellers will be allowed to enter the state without a quarantine period. However, unvaccinated and “high risk” international arrivals will have to stay in quarantine.
The news comes amid the backdrop of concerningly low vaccination rates in some parts of Western Australia. This includes WA’s mining hub Pilbara, where just 46 per cent of eligible residents have got both jabs so far. Thus, opening the state to international tourists could become a bigger challenge if vaccinations rates do not improve with time.
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How have travel stocks reacted?
Companies in the travel and hospitality sector seem to be majorly influenced by reports of reduced inflow of travellers in October. The decreasing confidence in travel and tourism was reflected in the depleting stock values of some of the largest travel sector players in the country.
Stocks of Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX:CTD), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN), Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) and Helloworld Travel Limited (ASX: HLO) were down following the release of the data.
However, with rising vaccination rates and improving consumer confidence in the country, better times can be expected for the travel and hospitality industry as a whole. The recent drop in travel stocks can also be accrued to the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant. The new variant has been a cause of heightened anxieties among travellers as well as investors over recent days. However, the full extent of the Omicron impact is likely to become more pronounced in the weeks ahead.
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