Three out of every four Australians believes that the time taken, cost and difficulty of gaining a visitor visa to Australia affects the country’s competitiveness in international markets such as China and India, a Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) survey conducted with Nielsen has revealed.
In Australia, the average length of time to process a visitor visa is seventeen days or more, while in France, the average is two days and in Japan, the average is seven days.
“Unless we can begin to expedite these processes we will lose critical visitor market share,” TTF chief executive Margy Osmond said.
“People expect a timely turnaround in terms of holiday and working holiday visa applications and Australia is lagging behind key competitors, and the ramifications will inevitably come back to haunt us.”
As notables from Australia’s tourism industry gathered at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel for TTF’s Outlook 2019, Margy Osmond said: “This week we are entering a fresh era in politics and today we are celebrating all aspects of tourism with the annual Outlook Conference.
“These events are the perfect platform to remind our government about the importance of tourism.”
57% of Australians also believe more money is needed to promote Australia overseas, to ensure Australia can maintain and grow its share of international visitors. 86% of Australians believe the government should invest more in innovation – both in transport and infrastructure and in services.
“Australia’s growing population and enormous growth potential in tourism numbers mean we need sensible planning and forward thinking on transport matters and necessary infrastructure that supports the industry,” Osmond said.
Edited by Peter Needham
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