Visa reform essential to stay a “must-visit” destination

Visa reforms are what will get Australia over the line when it comes to luring in the Chinese market.

According to Tourism & Transport Forum’s ceo Margy Osmond, visitation from China is strong down under, but needs more pushing to make it even bigger.

“We need further reform to our visa system to make it easier and cheaper for the Chinese to come to Australia,” Osmond said.

“What we see at the moment is visitors to Australia from mainland China paying around seven times more for their visas than visitors from Hong Kong or the United States.

“Other countries recognise the economic benefits generated by Chinese tourists and are taking visa reform seriously in order to capture their share of the market. For example, the Canadian government reduced their visa fees early last year to promote tourism and the South Korean government introduced a $90 (USD) 5-year multiple entry to encourage Chinese visitors. We should be adopting the same mentality.”

Visitor spending in our fair country was up almost 10% on the year to March 2015, with a large chunk of this being driven by spending from the Chinese.

“Chinese visitors were responsible for $6.4 billion of the total spend, or almost 20 per cent of total money spent by international visitors,” Osmond said, highlighting just how important this lucrative traveller market is.

“What’s more, the total spending by Chinese visitors grew by almost a quarter over the past year, which is also the highest growth rate on record.”

“To capitalise on this growth in Chinese visitors we must ensure Australia remains welcoming and competitive internationally as a must-visit destination.”

“We also need to invest more in destination marketing to make sure Australia, as a great tourist destination, is front and centre in the minds of the 200 million Chinese expected to travel abroad in 2020.

Osmond pinned transport as another avenue that needs attention in order to better Australia’s appeal to overseas visitors.

“Investments in transport infrastructure are also crucial. We must build links to airports like Melbourne’s Tullamarine and Sydney’s Badgerys Creek, as well as invest in demand-driven infrastructure like national parks, cultural institutions, convention centres and urban open spaces.”

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