Kristy Sexton- McGrath

Dec 12, 2024 | abc.net.au | Kristy Sexton- McGrath

Australian airports are preparing for record-breaking passenger numbers this holiday season, with millions taking to the skies. Today will be the busiest day for domestic travel at the Sydney Airport since 2019, with 81,000 passengers departing or arriving in the city. An estimated 5.8 million people will pass through the airport between December 13 and January 27, almost half a million more travellers than last year's holiday period.

Dec 10, 2024 | abc.net.au | Kristy Sexton- McGrath

As the holiday season kicks off and millions of Australians prepare to travel, new research has revealed the staggering environmental cost of global tourism. A University of Queensland-led study - published in Nature Communications today - has found the sector is responsible for almost a tenth of greenhouse gas emissions.

Nov 12, 2024 | abc.net.au | Kristy Sexton- McGrath

Exploring Australia's breathtaking landscapes and unveiling its hidden treasures may seem like a dream job. But a critical shortage of tour guides across the country has reached alarming levels, leading the Federal Government to add the job to its national occupational shortage list for the first time. The change opens the door for skilled migrants fill the gap.

Oct 8, 2024 | abc.net.au | Kristy Sexton- McGrath

Outback tourism operators are feeling the squeeze as soaring costs and increasing global competition cut into visitor numbers. Tourism authorities are blaming the decline on the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and return of international travel as Australians swap the rugged landscapes of the outback, to head overseas in record numbers. Featured:Carissa Morgan, travellerJustin Morgan, travellerGreig Taylor, NT tour operatorAndrea Plawutsky, Destination Country and Outback NSW chair

Oct 8, 2024 | abc.net.au | Kristy Sexton- McGrath

When Carissa and Justin Morgan sat down together to discuss selling their family home, they knew they were about to make a life-changing decision. Their dream was to experience Australia's quintessential outback; to share some of the country's most remote and iconic landscapes with their two young daughters. Undeterred by a rise in the cost of remote travel in Australia, they took the plunge and sold their house in Mackay in central Queensland to fund a year-long caravan journey.