A new campaign is set to increase the number of Australian tourists and business visitors.
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28 January 2010
$20m campaign to boost Australian tourism
After a tough year for international travel, the Australian Federal Government has announced a AU$20 million tourism marketing campaign to increase visitor numbers to Australia.
Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson made the announcement, saying the tourism industry had met challenges in 2009, with the swine flu pandemic and the global financial crisis but Australia had fared better than other destinations.
"We all know that 2009 was a very tough year," Mr Ferguson said.
"International visitors to Australia declined by one per cent, compared to an average of about four per cent around the world. Some of our competitors did far worse," he said.
The Australian tourism campaign will be made up of $9 million of government money, with $11 million from airlines and state and regional tourism bodies.
The focus of the campaign will be to stimulate the business travel market, as well as encourage Australian visitors from the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Ferguson said it was time for aggressive campaigning, and most of the marketing would be directed at New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Gulf Region.
All visitors to Australia, unless they have an Australian or New Zealand passport, need to have an Australian Travel Visa.
The most popular visa for short-term business purposes – to attend conferences, negotiations or exploratory business visits - to Australia, is the ETA Business Visa.
The most popular visa for visitors to Australia for tourism purposes is the ETA Tourist Visa, which allows the holder to enter Australia for up to three months.
The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australia immigration applications with the Australian Embassy.
