Bird flu report offers chilling predictions
A recent report on the effects of bird flu in Australia predicts dire consequences for the travel industry.
The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) report warned that air transport would be one of the sectors hardest hit in a global catastrophe that could kill up to 40,000 Australians and wipe 6.8 per cent off gross domestic product.
Air transport would fall by between 9.5 per cent in Queensland and 12.1 per cent in the Northern Territory. The tourism industry would be devastated by a slump of up to 19.2 per cent, depending on the state, as disease crippled the economy.
The ABARE study assumes 40 per cent of the population would be infected and that an outbreak would follow the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to cause a high mortality rate in the key 19-to-45 age group.
Illness and absenteeism would slash labour productivity and travel would be restricted by quarantine measures.
Airlines and tourism would also suffer as consumers shunned goods and activities likely to put them at risk of infection.
“The transport sector, particularly air transport services, is estimated to decline by 11 per cent relative to the reference case,” the report says.
Australian authorities are considering a plan that would see thousands of people quarantined, probably mostly at home, if a deadly flu pandemic struck.
Graham Muldoon
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments