Indonesia has the right idea, says TTF

Indonesia’s decision to scrap fees for Australian tourists applying for a one-month visa has been described as a “strong play”, and one that Australia should match.

The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) is calling on the Federal Government to follow suit on Indonesia’s decision to scrap the $49 fee for visitors from 79 countries, including Australia, spending less than a month in the country.

“This is a strong play by the Indonesians to attract more tourists to their shores and Australia should be adopting a similar mentality to encourage more tourists to come and see all that we have to offer,” chief executive Margy Osmond said.

“Indonesia is one of Australia’s closest neighbours with a growing middle class population. Yet it is far down the list, at number 12, by the country of origin for tourists coming to Australia with only 151,000 Indonesians visiting the past 12 months.”

Osmond highlighted figures that showed that the Indonesian tourism market is worth around $10.8 billion a year, but that Australia is only attracting $500 million of that – 5.5%.

“An Indonesian traveller wanting to visit Australia has to hand over $135 for a visitor visa – that is a financial disincentive to visit our country and spend money seeing Australia’s fantastic attractions and natural beauty,” she continued.

“As we continue to see the Indonesian economy strengthen with the massive growth we expect to see in the Asia-Pacific, that represents a significant tourism market on our very doorstep that we need to do more to cultivate.”

Back in November, minister for immigration and border protection Peter Dutton, minister for tourism senator Richard Colbeck and minister for trade and investment Andrew Robb announced the introduction of a three-year, multiple-entry visa for Indonesia visitors to Australia which he expected would significantly enhance the market’s tourism potential.

At the time, senator Colbeck highlighted Indonesia’s importance as a tourism source market for Australia which had grown over the last decade.

In 2014, there were 150,200 Indonesian visitors to Australia climbed 6% to 150,200, generating $600 million for the local economy.

“The Government will continue improving visa procedures to make it easier for international tourists to come to Australia,” Colbeck promised.

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indonesia margy osmond richard colbeck tourism ttf