Industry seeking Travel Agent Support package worth $125 million.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has just released details of its formal Federal Budget submission, seeking $125 million in funding to support the industry through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initiatives in the program include scaled “Back to Business” grants forecast to be an average of $40,000 based on total transaction value in FY19 to assist agents to stay in business, cover some operational costs, and help them continue the work of both returning refunds to customers and assisting travellers in 2021 and beyond.
Concessional loans of up to $100,000 per agency outlet are also part of the package, delivered through commercial banks and backed by a three-year Commonwealth guarantee.
AFTA CEO Darren Rudd said the submission highlighted the fact that travel agencies have zero revenue coming in, an enormous amount of refunds still to process, and have no end in sight on the continued closure of domestic and international borders.
“Now, more than ever, travel agents are proving their value to their customers and the increasing number of non-customers who have turned to them for support,” he said. AFTA said it estimated that 80% of the current travel industry workforce is working full time on refunds, cancellations and credits.
“AFTA is firmly of the view that the survival of those employed in the thousands of small- to medium-sized businesses, currently providing a valuable service to an estimated four million Australians warrant special consideration and the allocation of a specific industry grant,” Rudd added.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.