Globe hopping
22 / Australia
Family
first As hopes rise of family reunions in 2022, Australia’s tourism sector is preparing its welcome with new hotels and visitor attractions, reports Julie Baxter
L
ast week i received a letter from Australia. inside were photos – yes, old-school, traditional prints, sent by my relatives Down Under with news of newborns and new jobs, of family picnics and birthday celebrations, student successes and anniversaries marked. The letter told of toasts that had been raised in Sydney, Tasmania and Adelaide: “To absent friends,” they’d said, for me and my UK family, ruled out from any of their Australian gatherings for nearly two years now –not by the historic barriers of cost or distance, but by the travel rules of a pandemic. Among the photos was also one taken on our most recent visit, three years ago – to the Yarra Valley in Victoria for a wedding. It was a baking blue-sky summer’s day as we headed from our base in Healesville out to a beautifully old stone chapel, set within the stunning rolling fields of one of Victoria’s finest vineyards. The immaculately manicured vines stretched for miles beyond the bride and groom as they posed for sunset shots, and the scent of eucalyptus filled the air as we threw confetti and sipped our chilled Aussie drop. Inside the cool vineyard building, we were seated on long, sociable trestles as a seemingly u?nending array of spectacular Aussie food was laid before
us – succulent charcuterie and melt-in-themouth meats, flavourful cheeses, fabulous salads, dainty desserts and, of course, copious amounts of Australian wine. Our attendance, 12,000 miles from home, was mentioned in the speeches, but we were not the only ones who had made the effort. Others had come from far and wide and the roll-call of honoured international attendees simply served to confirm the multicultural make-up of many Australian families and the magnetic appeal of the destination for many. Another of the photos was of a small child – unbelievably the offspring of the bride and groom – shown now walking! A living embodiment of just how long families like mine have been held apart. The letter arrived just as news of the Omicron variant hit the headlines and that has triggered new internal border controls Down Under and a decision to delay the reopening of international borders to most leisure visitors (only some restricted categories including working holidaymakers can currently enter). No doubt a reopening roadmap will emerge early in 2022. The government already has its eye on tourism recovery with a THRIVE 2030 strategy, focused on ‘The Re-Imagined Visitor Economy’, and designed to drive long-term sustainable growth.
SELLINGTRAVEL.CO.UK
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12/20/21 05:06 PM
