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06-12-2014, 05:53 PM
Visas stem flow of Chinese visitors Chinese tourists each spend more than $7300, making them the biggest spenders of any tourist group.
Jamie Freed
414 words
5 Dec 2014
BRW
BRW
English
Copyright 2014. Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited.
Australia is falling behind in the battle to win Chinese tourists because it makes it too hard for them to get visas, says Austrade, Tourism Australia and NSW Trade & Investment.
The number of Chinese tourists rose 10 per cent to 736,000 in the 12 months ending on September 30, about half the 21.8 per cent rise to the United States from a much higher starting point.
The US last month signed a deal allowing 10-year, multi-entry visas for Chinese travellers.
"Reducing the length and complexity of the visitor visa application would reduce the burden of applying for a visa and close the gap on some of our competitors," Austrade said in submission to a Productivity Commission research project on Australia's international tourism industry.
An international visitor survey from Tourism Research Australia on Wednesday found that Chinese visitors on average spent $7362 compared with an average of $4899 overall, making the Chinese the highest spenders.
Unlike tourists from other markets, such as Malaysia, Chinese visitors cannot fill out an electronic visa application and they are required to present detailed information in English such as a letter from an employer and bank account details.
NSW Trade & Investment said the complexity of manual processes to apply for a tourist visa to Australia were considered a "disincentive" to visit, particularly for independent travellers visiting family and friends.
"Improvements by the Commonwealth to electronic visa processing for Chinese visitors would make it easier for this highly valuable visitor market to travel to Australia, further supporting the National Tourism 2020 target," the state body said.
Tourism Australia said the country needed to keep improving and streamlining visa issuing processes to remain competitive.
"At times, Australia has led other countries (such as the Electronic Travel Authority in 1996), however there are examples where other countries have overtaken Australia to streamline visa processes," the marketing group said.
The office of Immigration Minister Scott Morrison did not respond to questions on whether changes to the visa process were being considered.
Industry sources suggested the government has been slow-moving on the China visa issue in part because the processing fee would drop from $130 to $20 if the country was accepted into the electronic scheme, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.
Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited
Document BRW0000020141205eac500002
Jamie Freed
414 words
5 Dec 2014
BRW
BRW
English
Copyright 2014. Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited.
Australia is falling behind in the battle to win Chinese tourists because it makes it too hard for them to get visas, says Austrade, Tourism Australia and NSW Trade & Investment.
The number of Chinese tourists rose 10 per cent to 736,000 in the 12 months ending on September 30, about half the 21.8 per cent rise to the United States from a much higher starting point.
The US last month signed a deal allowing 10-year, multi-entry visas for Chinese travellers.
"Reducing the length and complexity of the visitor visa application would reduce the burden of applying for a visa and close the gap on some of our competitors," Austrade said in submission to a Productivity Commission research project on Australia's international tourism industry.
An international visitor survey from Tourism Research Australia on Wednesday found that Chinese visitors on average spent $7362 compared with an average of $4899 overall, making the Chinese the highest spenders.
Unlike tourists from other markets, such as Malaysia, Chinese visitors cannot fill out an electronic visa application and they are required to present detailed information in English such as a letter from an employer and bank account details.
NSW Trade & Investment said the complexity of manual processes to apply for a tourist visa to Australia were considered a "disincentive" to visit, particularly for independent travellers visiting family and friends.
"Improvements by the Commonwealth to electronic visa processing for Chinese visitors would make it easier for this highly valuable visitor market to travel to Australia, further supporting the National Tourism 2020 target," the state body said.
Tourism Australia said the country needed to keep improving and streamlining visa issuing processes to remain competitive.
"At times, Australia has led other countries (such as the Electronic Travel Authority in 1996), however there are examples where other countries have overtaken Australia to streamline visa processes," the marketing group said.
The office of Immigration Minister Scott Morrison did not respond to questions on whether changes to the visa process were being considered.
Industry sources suggested the government has been slow-moving on the China visa issue in part because the processing fee would drop from $130 to $20 if the country was accepted into the electronic scheme, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.
Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited
Document BRW0000020141205eac500002