kabarsula OPINION: Margy Osmond – ‘Working holiday makers are critical to Australia’s visitor economy’ bandar SLOT INDONESIA

In this opinion piece, Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) CEO Margy Osmond argues that Australia risks undermining one of its most valuable visitor markets by making it harder for working holiday makers to choose Australia.

The young travellers Australia has spent years trying to attract are now facing a very different welcome.

Working holiday makers aren’t just young people on temporary visas. They are high-value visitors who stay longer, spend more and travel further, supporting businesses across regional Australia.

Yet, the Federal Government has paused visa applications for the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program for 24 countries and confirmed visas are being processed “more slowly than they were previously”.

For most Australians, this may have gone largely unnoticed. But for the tourism industry, it has set off major alarm bells. Because in the global race for visitors, every extra hurdle matters.

Australia has invested heavily in building its reputation as the ultimate working holiday destination.

Tourism Australia and their state and territory partners have worked tirelessly to attract young travellers from around the world and it’s been paying off.

Last year, there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of working holiday makers who came to Australia, totalling 405,000 visitors.

The biggest growth has been among working holiday makers from the UK and France, as well as Japan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

And these visitors are worth fighting for. They don’t simply arrive, see the sights and leave. They stay. They work. They travel widely and spend in areas well beyond the traditional tourist trail.

Last year, working holiday makers spent $1.1 billion in regional Australia, plus a further $3.3 billion in our capital cities. These are not marginal numbers.

That money flows through the visitor economy into accommodation, restaurants, car hire, public transport, attractions and all kinds of local businesses.

And unlike most international visitors, working holiday makers contribute twofold. They spend money as visitors while helping businesses fill jobs in regional areas where local workers are in short supply.

They might spend the morning working in a regional hospitality business and the afternoon booking a tour.

A few weeks later, their wages fund their next road trip, hotel room and meals in another state.

We cannot underestimate the value of their contribution, especially for tourism and hospitality operators.

Those businesses often face significant seasonal shortages, where the local labour pool simply cannot meet demand. The same applies to other regional industries that rely on temporary workers at particular times of the year.

That is why we can’t think about working holiday makers simply as another migration cohort to be managed and must start recognising them as critical to Australia’s visitor economy.

Of course, the government has a responsibility to manage visa programs properly. But managing a program does not have to mean making Australia less competitive.

Let’s not forget that young travellers from France, the UK, Japan or any other key market have many attractive options when it comes to choosing which country to visit.

They can compare visa requirements, costs, wages, travel experiences and the ease of getting there with just a few taps on their phone.

If Australia makes the process slower and challenging, they can simply go somewhere else and spend their visitor dollars elsewhere.

For the tourism industry, predictability matters almost as much as the policy itself.

Businesses plan staffing, accommodation, tours, transport and marketing months ahead. Travellers do the same.

While a clear rule can be planned around, uncertainty cannot.

If a young traveller has already booked accommodation, an English course, a road trip or work, they need to know whether they can actually get here.

Australia should not be asking people to make those plans and then leaving them wondering when or whether they will be able to arrive.

And the visa is not the only barrier getting higher.

Since July this year, visa application fees across a range of categories increased sharply, with many rising by around 25%.

This is compounded by the planned increase in the Passenger Movement Charge to $80 per person for every international visitor aged 12 and over who departs Australia.

None of these decisions exists in isolation. From the traveller’s perspective, they are simply more cost, more complexity and more uncertainty attached to choosing Australia.

Australia should be asking how we can make that decision easier.

Tourism Australia research shows 88% of working holiday makers are likely to consider returning to Australia in the future. That means the person backpacking around Australia today could be the family holidaymaker, business traveller or repeat visitor of tomorrow.

They also become one of our most powerful marketing tools simply by telling people back home what a great experience they had here.

So let’s be clear. We’re not asking Government to abandon program integrity or uncontrolled growth.

We are asking for a Working Holiday Maker program that is fast, predictable, accessible and internationally competitive.

We need to recognise the unique economic contribution of working holiday makers as high-value international visitors and ensure efforts to manage migration do not inadvertently undermine Australia’s tourism industry.

If Government needs to manage demand, then give industry and travellers clarity about how that will work.

If caps and ballots are part of the future of the program, make them transparent and predictable.

If applications are being slowed, explain why and give applicants and businesses confidence about what happens next.

And most importantly, do not allow broader political debates about migration to obscure the economic value of these visitors.

Tourism is an intensely competitive global industry.

If we make it harder for working holiday makers to choose Australia, we should not be surprised when they choose somewhere else.