kabarsula ‘We are already seeing a drop’: Australia’s $4.4bn backpacker market under threat bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Tourism bookings are already falling as uncertainty around working holiday maker visas hits Australia’s $4.4 billion backpacker market, industry leaders have warned.

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) CEO Margy Osmond said a decline had been seen across a range of tourism activities over the past four to five weeks.

“We are already seeing a drop in bookings for a whole range of tourism activities around the country,” Osmond said.

That included tourism boats on Sydney Harbour, flights and visits to national parks.

“They are working holiday makers who not only come here to work, but spend all of their money having a tourism experience and supporting regional towns across the entire country,” she said.

The warning was issued at Australian Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, where four major industry bodies joined forces to call for urgent action on working holiday maker visas.

Osmond appeared alongside National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) CEO Michael Guerin, Accommodation Australia CEO James Goodwin and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) CEO Andrew McKellar.

The group called for greater certainty as Australia heads into the peak summer tourism and harvest seasons.

Working holiday makers worth $4.4bn to Australia

Working holiday makers spend around $4.4 billion in Australia every year, according to TTF. More than $1 billion is spent in regional communities, while around $1.6 billion is paid in tax.

“They are critical to both our workforce outcomes and from the tourism industry’s perspective, they’re a vital part of our international travelling public,” Osmond said.

“They provide unique skills and they spend every dollar they make here in Australia and particularly in our regional areas.”

Their value to Australian tourism can also continue long after their working holiday ends.

Osmond said working holiday makers were statistically the most likely to return to Australia as tourists.

“So they come back and contribute all over again,” she said.

Visa processing ‘paused’ across 24 countries

ACCI CEO Andrew McKellar claimed processing of subclass 462 Working Holiday visas had effectively been paused across 24 source countries.

“It hasn’t been transparent, but they have slowed, paused processing of visas under the working holiday maker categories, 462 in particular, across 24 source countries,” McKellar said.

He called for visa applications to be processed in a “professional, transparent, open manner”.

Otherwise, shortages could be created in tourism, agriculture and regional Australia, he warned.

The timing was described as the “worst possible” for the tourism and hospitality sector.

“We’re going into peak travel season and the time when we need these workers and need that certainty,” Accommodation Australia CEO James Goodwin said.

Accommodation Australia represents close to 5,000 hospitality, travel and accommodation providers, with a workforce of around 250,000 people.

Goodwin said there were currently 38,000 vacancies across the sector.

“Right now the local workforce simply can’t meet the demand that we have,” he said.

Working holiday makers were particularly valuable because they were mobile and flexible, he added.

Australia risks losing backpackers to Canada

Osmond also warned that uncertainty around the scheme could push working holiday makers towards competing destinations.

A similar situation had occurred previously, she said. International agencies responsible for placing working holiday makers had stopped recommending Australia.

“Canada were the absolute beneficiaries of that outcome and it took us years to restore confidence for those working holiday makers to come here,” Osmond said.

“So it’s really critically important to understand that urgency issue right now.”

Concerns were also raised over delays in skilled migration.

Goodwin said it was currently taking nine months to process a skilled worker in the hospitality sector.

“That is not acceptable,” he said.

If cuts were made to skilled migration, employer-sponsored migrants should be prioritised over independent migrants, Goodwin argued.

“We know there is already a job for them,” he said.

“We know that we need that employee and that skill and that labour shortage is already there.”