The federal government will halve the price of nearly 800,000 airline tickets as part of a $1.2 billion package aimed at getting more Australians to spend big on domestic holidays.

The move is designed to prop up ailing parts of the tourism and aviation sectors, which have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and which fear the end of the JobKeeper program later this month.

Between April and July, 2021 a 50% discount on tickets will be offered for flights to and from 13 regions that normally rely heavily on international visitors. The base from which the discounts apply is not yet clear.

The destinations are the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays region, the Sunshine Coast, the Lasseter region which includes Uluru, Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport, Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula and Kangaroo Island.

Routes and the precise number of tickets will be driven by demand and are still being discussed with airlines, but it is estimated an average of 46,000 half-price fares will be offered each week mostly with Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar.

They will be available for sale on airline websites from April 1.

We recommend early booking to get accommodation at a reasonable price otherwise any savings off flights will be more than offset by higher accommodation prices.

(Article credit to ABC News)