
Dr Schwartz joins call to extend NSW vouchers past Oct 9
City hotels need NSW Government to act now & attract more corporate and international travellers to Australian cities
Further to the ‘Call to extend Stay NSW Vouchers until January’ story appearing in AccomNews on September 29, Dr Jerry Schwartz has joined the call for the Stay NSW and Parents NSW vouchers to be extended past their October 09 expiry date.
Dr Schwartz, whose company owns 10 hotels in NSW, in Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, said all the evidence suggests that corporate and international travel hasn’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels in Australian cities, and particularly Sydney, where CBD office occupation rates still lag well below 60 percent.
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“In the place of this lost business, we need domestic leisure travel to attract visitors to the city for events, romantic breaks, functions and to catch up with friends and relatives,” he said.
“There is also strong evidence that outbound travel is growing faster than inbound leisure, so if the NSW Government is to support those companies that have invested heavily in building new and upgrading existing CBD accommodation, then they need to do everything to encourage visitors to city hotels.
“The NSW holiday vouchers might not provide a huge amount towards overnight stays, but if it helps hotels attract local travellers for a weekend away or an overnight visit for a sporting or cultural event then they should extend the voucher scheme.
“Hotel and hospitality providers have had two of the most difficult years ever since 2020, and now it is time to provide the support we need to recover.”
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.