For the past several weeks, Australia has been struggling with some absolutely horrible fires. Every couple of days, my partners at Southern World Australia would send me email reports entitled  "Bushfires Update", so I'd know and could action the impact on any properties and client holiday plans - and, of course, the impact on wildlife and the people of this fantastic continent.

Almost every day, they'd include a photo of the Sydney bridge and opera house - so travel advisors could see how clear the skies were. While they were battling on the ground, they still wanted to welcome visitors - and, of course, protect the holiday investments of those already planning to come.

This week, I got an email that was entitled "Recovery" - and it was amazing to see.

As a travel advisor, it feels like Australia is in a similar situation to the Caribbean with the hurricanes a year or so again. Folks stopped travelling to the Caribbean generally - so I was proud to play a small role in getting the word out that over 70% of the Caribbean hadn't been affected by the hurricanes. So, while we wanted to support and donate to help those affected, we also wanted to encourage people to still visit the unaffected areas - because those folks needed your tourism dollars to help the whole arrive recover and thrive.

The same is true in Australia now. They need you to visit - more than ever.

And here's an important fact - did you know only 3-4% of Australia was impacted by the bushfires? So, 96-97% was not impacted at all. And while we want to support and donate to help those affected, just like with the Caribbean, we want to still encourage people to visit the unaffected areas. 

And there's nothing better than focusing on RECOVERY - especially today, as it is  Australia Day!

As my partners at Virtuoso have noted, "On Australia Day (January 26), the country’s national holiday, we’re thinking about our friends down under. Besides donations, the best way to support Australia is to visit. Bushfires have caused significant damage, but main tourism destinations are ready to welcome visitors." 

Tourism Australia is launching a new consumer ad campaign called "Holiday Here this Year" - see Holiday Here This Year

I'm going to be working with Intrepid Travel on promoting Australia with our February 3rd event . And.....