In a bid to help the tourism industry, the government is offering half-price flights to locations across Australia.
As part of a 1.2 billion package, the prices of over 800,000 flights will be slashed to half. Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed the government’s plans earlier on Thursday in a move to help the tourism sector once the Jobkeeper payments end later this month. (Featured image: City of Gold Coast)
Certain parts of the tourism and aviation sectors have been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic and border shutdowns and the move is specifically designed to aid these particular industries.
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From the months of April to July, tickets will be offered for a discount of 50 percent to and from 13 locations that have been hit hard following the events of last year and usually rely heavily on tourism. These destinations include the Gold Coast, the Sunshines Coast, the Whitsundays and Cairns in Queensland; the Lasseter region (Uluru and Alice Springs) in the Northern Territory; and Burnie, Launceston and Devonport in Tasmania.
Victoria will see Avalon get discounted fares while Broome in WA, Merimbula in NSW and Kangaroo Island in South Australia also feature.
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Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar among other regional carriers will be the main recipients of these discounts. Mr Morrison stated that this is the ticket to recovery. He said, “We have got to get tourists on the ground and that’s what is going to keep people in their jobs,” further adding, “This package will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard.”
The tickets go on sale on April 1 and the offer runs until 31 July so if you, like us, have been dreaming of white sand beaches and clear turquoise water, now would be the right time to start packing and planning.