PRESS RELEASE: Tour Guides join fight to help #SaveTheTravelIndustry
Australia’s peak representative body for tour guides, the Professional Tour Guide Association of Australia (PTGAA) is fighting for continued Federal Government support as the end of JobKeeper threatens a mass exodus of skilled and experienced tour guides
“Prior to March 2020 PTGAA members had plenty of work, the industry was buoyant and the future bright. The sudden closure of international borders and continued inactivity of international arrivals since then has been devastating. The bleak picture is simply explained in the following single stark statistic. According to Tourism Australia, visitor arrivals plummeted by 99.6% in August 2020 compared to August 2019.” said the President of PTGAA, Jim McInerney.
PTGAA has also been providing assistance for members to contact their Local Federal Member to share their story and request ongoing JobKeeper support until international arrivals return to at least 70% of 2019 arrivals.
Since international borders closed at the start of the COVID pandemic, the PTGAA has also created a pathway to enable Tour Guides to stay connected to the tourism industry with complimentary Associate Membership. This pathway has been extended until 30 June 2021. PTGAA also encourages all members and industry participants to join the industry lead campaign #SaveTheTravelIndustry.
“We encourage all our members to get behind #SaveTheTravelIndustry, an industry led campaign. It’s great to see tourism membership organisations like Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) working hard to retain a skill base that generated around $45bn export revenue in 2019 that can quickly rebound when international borders open” said the President of PTGAA, Jim McInerney.
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CONTACT
For further information: please contact Jim McInerney at [email protected] or call 0417 123 178
ABOUT PTGAA
PTGAA has undertaken the accreditation and professional development of professional tour guides since 1985. We support our members with various benefits such as industry discounts, regular PD events, discounted Group Insurance cover. We proactively engage with industry partners to foster partnering and business opportunities with our Members. For more information visit www.ptgaa.org.au
PTGAA has undertaken the accreditation and professional development of professional tour guides since 1985. We support our members with various benefits such as industry discounts, regular PD events, discounted Group Insurance cover. We proactively engage with industry partners to foster partnering and business opportunities with our Members.
