Italktravel owner Lisa Hall is happy to be sending clients on holidays

For many it has been two years of constantly rebooking holidays abroad, and local Italktravel owner Lisa Hall is looking forward to finalising bookings for her clients and sending them on their way.

"It'll be nice to get the clients finally on their holidays, it's been a long time coming," she said.

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"Mostly, at the moment, it's people who are wanting to go and visit family and friends."

In anticipation of being able to travel again, there has been some speculation around the cost of airfares and whether they will significantly rise or lower due to COVID.

Ms Hall said so far there hasn't been much of a change in price but what happens moving forward will depend on demand.

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"I don't know what's going to happen but they seem to be where they were," she said.

"There's a lot of airlines who still haven't returned yet so I think they're waiting to see what actually happens.

"So obviously if there's a lot more airlines flying that will drop the prices because there's more competition."

Though COVID lockdowns forced society to venture into the world of online shopping, Ms Hall encourages people to book their holidays and trips through a local travel agent.

As there are still a number of restrictions in place that differ from country to country, so having the knowledge and guidance of a travel agent is the perfect safety net.

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Utilising the local travel agencies is also a great way to support local businesses.

"Internationally most boarders are open to us [but] there's a lot that you have to do to get in and out of a lot of countries," Ms Hall said.

"It is easing little bit but it's just knowing what you need to do.

"You still have to, in some circumstances, PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test even though you only need to RAT [rapid antigen test] back into Australia.

"If you don't have a PCR test at the airport when you go to check in then they won't let you on the flight, so it's those kind of things."

The next big transition for the tourism industry will be the government lifting the ban on Australian cruises.

Currently cruises are available overseas but not domestically, and Ms Hall said there's a big push for cruises to be allowed again as they inject a huge amount into the economy.

She is already taking bookings for the 2022/2023 season which begins in September and runs through to April, with people hoping the ban will lift before then.

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