A weekly consumer confidence index for travel has reached its highest level since September 2019, thanks to the announcement of international travel to New Zealand.
The opportunity to travel to New Zealand appears to have lifted the mood of Australians, being a step towards some sort of normality after tough restrictions on everyday life imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index has jumped 5.9 per cent, reaching its highest level since September 2019 and sprinting past its long-run average.
“The receding of the Brisbane lockdown and announcement of the trans-Tasman travel bubble has seen confidence jump sharply,” ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank said.
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The much-anticipated news for quarantine-free two-way travel with NZ was confirmed last week by the prime ministers of both countries, which led to a rush of eager travellers booking their business and leisure travel; proving that the hunger for travel is high.
The confidence survey, conducted at the weekend, would have also captured last week’s decision by the nation’s health authorities to recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine not be given to people aged under 50.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the government will no longer set targets for the remainder of the vaccine rollout, a timetable that was already in tatters.
So far there has been around 1.2 million vaccinations, well short of the original plan to have four million completed by the end of March.
But despite the vaccine rollout delay, the Trans-Tasman bubble is the good news we’ve all been waiting for and, at this stage, Qantas says it’s still planning to go ahead with its return of international flights at the end of October.
Source: AAP
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