I wouldn't be surprised if other countries had it worse either... I realize that this is a bit off topic, and I know that Australia is not a developing country like Uganda, but how has the ecotourism industry in Australia been since the start of the pandemic?
Of course conservation work is not tourism dependent in Australia, so money has not been an issue. Nor is poaching or encroachment in protected areas an issue. Some work that is not deemed essential has not been done, in our case there was very little monitoring of wild orange-bellied parrots over the last two winters.
As far as businesses go, that varies a lot between different businesses. For the period through to June 30 this year there was wages support which for us meant we could meet our wages bill for keepers without issue. There were also a range of arrangements put in place for things like rent and loan deferrals that assisted businesses as well. Most of these supports have now gone.
If your business is 100% dependent on international tourists then you have no income and are reliant on whatever reserves you have or can negotiate with your bank. No doubt you have let go most or all of your staff by now, so that when the time comes to reopen you will have to find and train new staff. It is going to be very difficult for the Australian tourism industry to recover.
If you are reliant on interstate custom then you are affected by the frequent border closures, but can make some money in between If you are reliant on intra-state custom, or have been able to pivot to locals, you are probably able to do quite well so long as your state is not shut down. For instance Western Australia, which has had almost no COVID or shutdowns, but have had borders largely closed to the rest of the country, most tourism businesses are doing very well from local customers as far as I can tell.
