Opinion
- The trip you forgot you took
  
  In this guest posting, TNS Director, Travel & Leisure, Carolyn Childs explains how to make the most of visiting friends and relatives
  
  How to get more Australians travelling at home more often remains a hot topic for the domestic tourism market. It’s a passion of mine and the reason we set up our Domesticate research. In spite of apparently long periods of stasis or decline, we continue to believe passionately in the opportunities in the domestic market. The interesting thing is that some of them are right under our noses. We all know they’re there, but it’s almost as if they’re hidden in plain sight. Read more »
- There’s nothing like inertia in the face of a downturn
  
  Do you remember the big fanfare when Tourism Australia launched its ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ campaign, and invited the nation to share its favourite Australian places and experiences with the world? I’m sure you do, we wrote about it extensively at the time, and TA managing director Andrew McEvoy even wrote a column for Thumbrella urging the backpacking sector to get involved. Read more »
- Here’s how to cash in on the gap year boom
  
  In this guest posting, Gapyear.com founder Tom Griffiths tells you how to cash in on disappointed UK students who miss out on a university place this year.
  
  UK media reports that 200,000 young people will miss out on university places this year may be overhyped – in truth about 100,000 don’t normally get in anyway – but it’s still a shocking statistic. And an opportunity for you guys Down Under to cash in. Read more »
- Lonely Planet – the gift that keeps on giving
  
  There’s nothing my kids hate more than hearing me start a telling off with the phrase “when I was a kid…” It usually follows them taking an ordinary household item – like the family computer – for granted. Read more »
- ATEC could do worse than appoint the next Matt Hingerty to replace the last one
  
  As a long-suffering England soccer fan, I’ve noticed a trend in the way the Football Association appoints the national team manager. That is, it tends to go for the polar opposite of the man who went before. If you don’t believe me, here’s the recent evidence… Read more »
- Another Wicked piece of marketing
  
  I’ve written about this before, but once again I have to confess to a sneaking admiration for the PR and marketing expertise of John Webb and Wicked Campers. Read more »
- Grounds for cautious optimism, but things could get worse before they get better
  
  Just got back from a couple of weeks in London – surely the world’s most depressed capital city at the moment, but more of that later – and everyone I speak to seems to be 20 per cent down. Read more »
- BOA successfully talks up the ‘Gong and south coast
  
  BOA president Katrina Greeves’ wrap-up on last week’s regional meeting in Wollongong.
  
  Over 10 local South Coast tourism operators joined BOA Committee representatives and members at the ‘BOA Talks South Coast’ event in Wollongong last Thursday to engage in lively debate regarding travel and tourism issues affecting the backpacker, student and youth market in the south coast region. Read more »
- What prison taught me about discounting
  
  Founder of Brokepacker.com Kevin Lippy explains there are three types of discounting ahead of the website’s launch tonight.
  
  A prison yard is a tough, volatile, dangerous, cut throat and an extremely unpredictable environment… Kind of like the Australian backpacking industry during low season. Read more »
- How many backpackers does it take to change a lightbulb?
  
  Thumbrella is conducting an exclusive industry survey this week, with just one question. How many of your customers are idiots? Read more »
- How’s business?
  
  So, how’s business? It’s a simple question, but it seems there’s no easy answer. Read more »
- Australian backpacking is the pulse we watch to gauge the health of the industry worldwide
  
  In this guest post, gapyear.com founder Tom Griffiths relects on the recent ATEC Backpacker and Youth Industry Conference and why Australia’s backpacking industry still leads the world.
  
  Like most of the delegates I spoke to, I found the recent ATEC Backpacker and Youth Industry Conference extremely interesting and useful. It’s very easy in these current times to set a safe agenda to cater for an industry licking its wounds, who want to hear good news stories and see rainbows ahead. Read more »

Batten down the hatches… for now

Guest columnist: David Lamyman, President, BOA NSW

There is a recession on its way. That’s the biggest challenge facing the industry for the next year.I recently spoke with Travellers Contact Point Managing Director Alan Collingwood, who reports a huge drop in his arrival packages in April compared to last year, with May and June also down.

We agreed the industry will have to be cautious for the next 12 months, and flexible with its product or service.

Consequently, BOA NSW has decided to focus its BOA Talks presentations at Wake Up! on July 9 on ways to cut costs. There are a lot of people in business now who haven’t experienced a recession before, with the last one being in the early ’90s. Let’s learn lessons from more experienced operators.

I don’t want this message to be completely negative. I recently got an email from a friend in the UK. It read: “I’m busy working towards my degree in real estate which, on the job front, is horrendously competitive. I’ve been lucky enough to find a work placement in Sydney for July and need accommodation. Can you help?”

Australia will provide a great haven to the international youth market that can’t find work at home. Yes, it will be a struggle for them to find employment here, but nowhere near as bad as in Europe or North America.

What’s more, due to the strength of the Australian economy, current opinion is that we will bounce back much more quickly than the northern hemisphere. Backpackers will return home spreading the news about their positive experience in Oz. Our biggest challenge for the next year, as well as cutting costs, is finding them jobs, and making sure they understand they must be flexible about the work they do.

By Alice Terlikowski · April 2nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm