The Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) has slammed the Federal Government’s decision to dramatically reduce the number of Working Holiday Makers in Australia, warning the changes will make it harder to attract the visitors and workers the tourism sector desperately needs.
A new ballot system will see the number of available places fall by at least 38,000 per year, with second-year visas capped at 45,000 places and third-year visas capped at just 5,000.
TTF CEO Margy Osmond said the cuts have been announced without any engagement or consultation about the potential impacts for the industry, ahead of the peak summer season.
“We called on the Government not to disrupt the visitors and workers our industry depends on. Yet, they’re charging ahead with major changes without previously consulting the people who have to make it work. That is an extraordinary slap in the face for an industry already under pressure,” Ms Osmond said.
She said the scale of the reduction was particularly alarming, with second-year places to fall by more than 21% compared with last year, and third-year places to drop by more than 80%.
“This is not a minor adjustment. The Government has taken tens of thousands of potential visitors and workers out of the pipeline,” she said.
Ms Osmond said the Government’s decision to set a three-month processing timeframe could also effectively lock in the slowdown that has already been causing problems for tourism businesses.
“Three months is a long time in a globally competitive environment. We would hope that Working Holiday Makers could access their visas much faster than that, especially when businesses are planning around seasonal demand,” she said.
TTF also questioned why tourism and hospitality were not included in the list of key sectors for priority processing, noting they’re facing the same workforce pressures as the other sectors and should be recognised accordingly.
Ms Osmond said the changes raised deep concerns about how tourism businesses are supposed to plan for summer, following months of struggle.
“Tourism has been through the ringer. Our operators have been fighting their way through the fuel crisis, higher costs and a brutal operating environment,” she said.
Last year, Working Holiday Makers spent around $1.1 billion in regional areas, plus a further $3.3 billion in Australia’s capital cities, according to Tourism Research Australia.
While the value of these visitors extends well beyond their initial stay, with 88% of Working Holiday Makers likely to consider returning to Australia, including 66% who are ‘extremely likely’ to return.
“These travellers are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. These visitors are sleeping in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, taking our tours, travelling through our regions and keeping tourism businesses staffed in areas where there are genuine worker shortages,” Ms Osmond said.
She said the changes also threatened Australia’s international reputation as a destination for young travellers.
“States and territories have spent years investing in strategic marketing and developing tourism products to attract young travellers to Australia. The damage we do to that reputation now will be long term,” she said.
“These visitors have choices in what is a fiercely competitive global environment. If we make Australia harder to choose, they will choose somewhere else.”
“And when they spend their money somewhere else, Australian tourism businesses pay the price.”
ENDS