Qantas, the Australian airline, has recently noted that the combination of low airfares and more international carriers has had detrimental effects on the national economy and travel sector, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Company representatives claim that “[t]he rapid growth in the outbound market has resulted in jobs and investment being exported to competitor off-shore destinations … ultimately to the detriment of both the tourism sector and Australian airlines."
According to statistics, a mere 1.2 million visitors resulted from the additional 6.8 million seats allotted to inbound international travel since 2005. It was also noted that since 2007, the rate of outbound travel had experienced a growth of four times that of inbound travel (which amounts to a loss of roughly $100 billion for the Australian economy).
Qantas has proposed to attract inbound tourism by encouraging bilateral agreements, rather than promoting overseas travel.