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Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond says Australians are incredibly keen to get "revenge against the virus" as appetite for travel increases coming out of the pandemic. Australians' appetite for travel over the past few months has been exceeding 2019 levels but industry leaders have warned ongoing staff shortages could undermine the recovery of the $126 billion a year industry. Google has charted the rise in travel intent as searches for domestic trips have exceeded pre-pandemic numbers by 62 per cent in April – while international travel queries were also well up on the same time in 2019. However, there's not enough staff to support a strong rebound in visitor numbers after the sector lost up to 300,000 workers over the past two years due to COVID. The latest monthly data was a cause for some optimism as domestic travellers had spent $5.2 billion in February – up 11 per cent on the same time in 2020. "This is revenge against the virus ... there is no doubt that appetite is up (for travel) across the board," Ms Osmond told Sky News Australia.
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