Yesterday marked two years since the Australian borders closed, and members of the tourism industry, which suffered one of its greatest downturns in decades throughout the pandemic, arguably THE greatest, gathered on Friday to show support for one another and celebrate the return of international travel.
Hosted by Oklahoma Tourism, Brand USA and United Airlines, over 100 travel industry peers – from travel agents to tourism boards, travel writers and tour operators – celebrated the comeback of Australian outbound travel to the USA at The Hard Rock Café, Sydney, as they cheered on five brave and talented colleagues who led a showcase of songs from Oklahoma! the musical on stage for the chance to win a trip to Oklahoma.
The COVID pandemic has shown how resilient and talented the tourism industry community is. Many have had to broaden their skills or turn to other passions and talents to ride the COVID wave. The event embraced the passion and skills across the sector while giving a nod to its American tourism body hosts.
The five singers were travel industry personalities who managed to pivot throughout the pandemic, including Marina Wood from Flight Centre, Lauren Oxenham from Adventure World and Clinton Griffiths from Globus, as well as Out & About with Kids magazine editor, Elisa Elwin and Perth-based travel radio show broadcaster, Steve Collins.
Pre-pandemic, the USA was the number one long-haul destination for Australians and in 2019, 1,319,218 Australians visited the USA, with 82% of these for leisure / a holiday and 26% to visit friends and family.
Australians are known to immerse themselves in a destination when they travel and spent an average 19 nights length of stay in the USA before COVID, allowing for multiple locations and experiences in one trip* – an itinerary that lesser-explored states such as Oklahoma can fit seamlessly within thanks to its central location, position at the heart of Route 66, Cowboy culture, Native American history, BBQ food and wide-open spaces.
For more information on Oklahoma, visit www.linkdtourism.com/traveloklahoma/
No Comments