Tourism
Australia's marketing campaign to promote working holidays will help to
showcase Australia to a new generation of international visitors,
according to Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA).
The $4
million campaign, based around the offer of six 'Best Jobs in the
World' working in tourism regions, will highlight Australia's unique and
diverse experiences to the international youth market.
"The
Working Holiday Visa is an important component of the tourism industry
and Tourism Australia is smart to target young holiday makers with the
lure of adventure", said TAA Managing Director, Rodger Powell.
"These
visitors spend an average of $13,000 in Australia per trip and make a
$2.5 billion contribution per year to the Australian economy. The more
of these visitors we can attract to our shores, the better.
"Working
holiday makers are also a valuable source of labour for hotels
struggling to fill jobs in an industry where there are 36,000 job
vacancies.
"Promoting Australia's working holiday
opportunities through an innovative and fun campaign will help to
broaden our appeal internationally, but the impact will be limited
unless the Government makes some changes to the rules regarding the
Working Holiday Visa.
"Unfortunately the Working Holiday
Visa is not available in China, our most important and fastest growing
tourist market. In fact, across Asia the Visa is either not available
or severely restricted in number. This is at odds with the Government's
intentions, through the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, to
capitalise on the growth of our neighbouring countries.
"The
current age limit of 30 years is too young and hasn't kept pace with
changing traveller demographics. It should be raised to 35 years to
remain relevant in the international travel market.
"It
also doesn't make sense that working holiday makers who work in the
mining or agriculture industries are eligible to extend their stay by
another 12 months but those who work in the tourism industry are not."
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