Interview with Matt Shervington, Sunrise
Matt Shervington: Joining us now is Tourism Minister Dan Tehan. Minister, good morning to you. Great to have you with us. International borders: first off, they're reopening as well. How hard will it be to get people to holiday locally this year?
Dan Tehan: Well, I think one of the great things about the pandemic is people have really come to appreciate what a great backyard we have here in Australia, and I think what we're going to see is more Australians turning to domestic tourism and wanting to holiday here. And that's why this campaign is, I think, so important, because it says to Australians, for Christmas, we're gifted the best country to living in the world, why not give someone for Christmas an experience of travelling in our great country, or to go to an event in our great country or to have an experience in our great country. And, I think, we'll see as we come out of this pandemic, more Australians quite content to stay here and support the 660,000 jobs that our tourism industry creates each and every year.
Matt Shervington: It's a great ad, plenty of star power. What about our own confidence? I mean, uncertainty around state borders. Do you think Aussie's have enough confidence to make bookings now?
Dan Tehan: I think they do, and we've seen that great news overnight that the border between New South Wales and Victoria are coming down. So, I think, more and more we're going to see people having the confidence to be able to travel, especially as the vaccination rate continues to grow. We're getting near world-record levels. We're going to hit 80% nationally in the coming days. So, I think, more and more as those vaccination rates go up, as we see the borders come down, people will want to travel. And wouldn't it be great, as many states got rid of their border issues before Christmas so Australians could travel freely to visit dear ones for Christmas. That would be wonderful. And Victorians, New South Wales have very much, I think, led the way in that regard overnight.
Matt Shervington: Minister hoping it does work and, of course, we can get to see our families once again. Great to have you with us.
Dan Tehan: Thank you. Great to be with you.