Now its easier to Visit Australia
18 June 2016 by News DeskNew measures include no rise in fees for Visitor or Working Holiday Maker visas, no increase in the Passenger Movement Charge and a new fast clearance service for travellers.
A record 7.5 million overseas visitors arrived in the year to February 2016 and the government is responding to the rise on people wanting to Visit Australia.
Tourism now accounts for 3 per cent of GDP, supports one million Australian jobs and drives $30.7 billion in exports.
Richard Colbeck, Minister for Tourism, says: “Tourism is growing at more than three times the national average. And the tourism sector continues to drive jobs and growth.”
The government has introduced a range of new measures including record funding for Tourism Australia of $629 million over four years.
There will be a continuing freeze on the Passenger Movement Charge and there will be no increases to fees for Visitor or Working Holiday Maker visas.
A new premium clearance service for international travellers, located within international airports on a pay-per-use basis, will also be introduced.
It’s easier to Visit Australia
A trial of new three-year, multiple-entry visitor visas for India, Thailand and Vietnam to be introduced in July 2016, and for Chile by December 2016. This will later be extended to other countries such as India and United Arab Emirates.
These measures are in addition to the new three-year, multiple-entry visitor visa for Indonesia and a new 10-year visitor visa for China that will be available later this year.
“Tourism’s direct contribution to the Australian economy is around $47.5 billion or 3.0 per cent of total Gross Domestic Product,” says Richard Colbeck.
“The number of people directly employed in the tourism industry has reached 580,800, an increase of 6.3 per cent.
“And if you include all related employment, tourism supports around one million jobs, representing about 10 per cent of Australia’s total employment.”
With the number of tourists forecast to grow by 4.1 per cent per year over the next decade, well above the national average, there is no lack of people that want to visit Australia.
Click here for expert help with travel visas: Travel to Australia
Click here for tourist information about Australia: Visit Down Under
