Asian tourists make up large portion of tourism boom

Asian nations make up a large portion of the rise in immigration visa applications for tourists, with China and Singapore leading the way.

The latest figures from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) show that between July and December of last year, Chinese applications increased by 16.5 per cent (194,204), when compared with the same period in 2011.

Furthermore, Singaporean applications rose by 28.7 per cent, to 81,364.

Record interest from tourists will see Australia capitalise, a DIAC spokesman said, with the economy bound to benefit.

He explained: “The Australian labour market benefits from increased numbers of tourists and working holiday makers.

“Despite the high value of the Australian dollar, our strong economy and unique natural and cultural attractions have drawn a record high number of international visitors and working holidaymakers.”

In the first half of the 2012-13 financial year, two million visitor visas were granted – a 5.8 per cent rise compared with the corresponding six months in the previous year – while in December 2012, there were 401,362 visitor visa holders in Australia.

That 9.2 per cent rise saw billions of dollars injected into the local economy, with Asia playing a big role.

The DIAC spokesperson said the department is looking to make it easier than ever for Asian tourists to visit Australia. There has been an expansion of online application submissions as it is hoped that tourism will aid in Australia’s economic and cultural growth.

“We need to be able to take advantage of the increased tourist markets, and our online visa lodgement system is part of our improved service for visitors,” the spokesperson said.

The working holidaymaker (WHM) visa program has been a part of the growth in tourism, with a 23.2 per cent rise in approvals between July and December 2012. This has built on the growth that was seen with this program in previous years, with the 2011-12 period yielding a record 222,992 grants.

The United Kingdom comprises the biggest proportion of approvals, followed by Taiwan, South Korea, Germany and France.

Uruguay is also expected to make inroads in the program, after a deal was signed between Chris Bowen, the then immigration minister, and the Uruguayan ambassador to Australia, Alberto Fajardo.

The November deal ensured that university educated people between the ages of 18 and 30 were entitled to travel to each other’s countries for the purposes of tourism and work.

Courtesy of Migration Alliance

Administrators’s note:

This follows on from the previous post and is an opportunity for Australia and its constituent states to project themselves as both tourist venues but also as destinations for temporary or permanent skilled personnel. These migrants will bolster our local work-force and enable SME suffering in areas of skill shortage to survive and large companies to plan ahead with the confidence that they will have sufficient skilled manpower into the future.

It is worth remembering in the current discussion of tightening up the 457 program for example, that simply having a % of Australian and permanent residents out of work does not mean there is no place for the 457 temporary skilled worker program. Positions required to be filled and sought by employers are for skilled occupations. Local unemployed persons will not necessarily have those skills or to the level required to be productive for a perfect fit.