As vaccination rates continue to rise, Australia is on track to slowly reopen borders and entertain the idea of international travel. With many Australians craving the post-Covid travel experience, they are now being faced with exorbitant airline prices that may just halt travel plans altogether.
Due to the high demand for flights and a scarce supply of seating, airlines, like Qantas, have had to raise the price of economy tickets to upwards of $5,000. Speaking exclusively to Starts at 60, the chief commercial officer at Travel at 60, Wendy Harch, shared travel information for some of their most sought-after destinations.
“The Travel at 60 team has already seen a surge in enquiries for international travel in 2022 & 2023. Destinations in high demand include New Zealand, Japan, the USA & the UK. It is also really clear that the love of cruising has not diminished at all during Covid with a massive spike in bookings for newly released cruises for the 2023/2024 season,” she said.
Being able to see friends, family, and grandchildren during the pandemic is a crucial part of not feeling lonely, especially since 41 per cent of grandparents confessed that they have felt lonelier than ever, during the first year of the pandemic.
Post-lockdown holidays are the only hope for many of us to feel any sense of normalcy again, but holidays will only come after 70 to 80 per cent of the country’s population are vaccinated. According to Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg in an August press conference, Australia will have to accept the fact that there will be many more cases and deaths until the majority are vaccinated.
“So people have to be straight with the public and tell them there are going to be more cases,” he said. “There are going to be deaths. But we can’t live in lockdown forever. That’s our message. And that’s why I’m saying to the premiers and to the chief ministers, the government’s emergency economic support does not continue indefinitely. It is there until we get the vaccination rate to the levels that they agreed with the prime minister at [the] national cabinet.”
But it’s not all bad for the avid traveller, once international and domestic travel reopens, our lovely team at Travel at 60 will still be around to give you a good deal.