Visa reforms positive for Australian tourism

The Australian Tourism Export Council(ATEC) welcomed reforms to a number of visa arrangements for visitors from Spain, Argentina and India recently announced by the Federal Government.

"ATEC has actively lobbied for increases to the cap on work and holiday visas from countries where we could see increased demand and South American countries were high on our list of priorities," ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said today.

"With the announcement of an increased 800 places for work and holiday visa places from Argentina, and 900 places from Spain, we thank the Government for listening and acting on the industry's recommendations.

"These extended visa limits provide a reciprocal benefit for young Australians also looking to work and travel abroad and will create life-long ties between the two countries creating great destination ambassadors for Australia.

With visitors from India up by 16% in the past 12 months Mr Shelley said the Government's announcement of a new online visa lodgement option was timely.

"India is widely recognised as the next big market for global tourism and Australia is well placed to take advantage of this growing market and streamlined visa processes will be a vital component to our success.

"There are many elements to achieving success in the highly competitive international visitor marketplace including having high quality, diverse and engaging products and great marketing campaigns. Efficient visa processes is another important way for Australia to will stand out in the crowd.

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