“PCR tests should be there for people who have symptoms,” Mr Long said. “We need to be making sure that those expensive and extremely accurate tests are there for people who need it … They shouldn’t be allocated to people wanting to travel.”
Boutique travel management company Traveltoo managing director Neil Wood.
“That’s what RAT tests are there for. It worked in the Olympics, there’s no reason why it can’t work in Queensland,” Mr Long added.
Neil Wood is the managing director of Traveltoo, a travel management company based in North Sydney, and says the business’ revenue is down 90 per cent from pre-COVID levels.
“I’ve been doing this job for 56 years. I’ve never seen anything like this – ever,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Travel agents, who earn commission on tickets sold, have been left out of pocket amid mass ticket refunds during the pandemic. “But what a lot of people don’t know is that airlines ask for the commission back that travel agents earn on that ticket,” Mr Wood said.
“And they don’t just send you a bill – it’s taken straight out of your bank account.”
Meanwhile, many customers have opted for airline credit instead – but travel agents don’t earn money unless new bookings are made, he added. “The industry is not going to start making money until March or April next year.”
Richard Young owns a travel agency with four branches spread across Sydney. Clients’ PCR test results that don’t back in time means he and his team must rearrange itineraries as well as accommodation, all the while reassuring clients that everything will be managed.
“We know it’s not our mistake, but it’s horrible because we have to change our itinerary if the flight is delayed. We have to ask the tour guides to change everything,” he said. “The COVID results are a big problem for us … we cannot control that. We hate that policy.”
‘We hate that policy’: Travel industry lashes out at tourism testing
Source: Philippines Alive
