The Australian tourism industry has been affected significantly by the recent bushfires in Australia, with worldwide coverage prompting millions to be concerned for their future safety throughout the summer months in this nation. This comes after numerous bushfires have caused for pillars of smoke to spread around the Australian continent, forcing multiple evacuations in the process. Already tourism authorities have cancelled future events throughout the summer season and shut down all national parks. These bushfires have prompted for entire cities to be evacuated, with air quality diminishing daily to unhealthy levels. It’s estimated that twenty individuals passed away from the recent fires and more than five hundred million animals have been lost as well. Australia was hit by these bushfires at the worst time possible, with their tourism economy already being fragile. Considering this is their fourth-biggest export as a nation, the continued development of these wildfires is forcing more vacations to be cancelled and travellers to find other destinations for their holidays.
These blazes have extended themselves up the rolling hills of New South Wales making their way to the Blue Mountains near Sydney. The fires continue to push forward towards the capital city after burning for two consecutive weeks. The Blue Mountains resort, one of the most popular tourist destinations annually generates 2.71 million guests, however, the number of buses arriving this season per day is an estimated four whereas 2018 saw an average of twenty busses showing up daily, indicating a 75% drop in tourist activity.
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The numerous hotels in Sydney, Australia have seen an average decline of 10% in bookings since December. That number is estimated to rise to 35% by February 2020. It should be noted that the Australian Train network saw a decline of 50% from 2018, with losses of more than fifty thousand tourists occurring throughout the season. However, this hasn’t stopped Australian officials from trying to grow the level of tourism in their nation. Last month they released a new advertising campaign to Great Britain, displaying their beautiful beaches and gorgeous scenery. This decision was made even with the bushfires burning across the nation, indicating zero respective towards commonwealth life.
These scorching bushfires are increasing, with temperatures in Australia growing daily and wind becoming more powerful. It’s prompted for the famous South Australia vineyards to burn to the ground and for Tasmania to become the hottest island worldwide. These two sectors being affected by the bushfires will force a significant decline in tourism. This applies to the various national parks that were shut down in Victoria and New South Wales, immediately stopping 100 million annual visitors.