AUSTRALIA ASIAN TOURISTS ARE TREATED
SECOND CLASS CITIZENS BY CHARGING ONLINE LODGED VISA FEES OF $ 135 AGAINST $ 20
CHARGED FROM EUROPEANS BRITISHERS AND AMERICANS AND EVEN FOR 10 YEARS VISA
CHINESE NEED TO PAY VISA FEES OF $ 1000 WHEREAS SINGAPOREAN NEED TO PAY ONLY $
28
Australia is treating
Chinese tourists like second-class citizens by charging them far more for visas
than European and Americans, a top tourism leader says.
Electronic visas for
passport holders from countries like the United
States, European Union nations and even Hong Kong cost only $20 and can be
lodged online. But other nationalities, such as China, India, Brazil and
Indonesia are charged $135 to apply for a visa.
"A Chinese tourist would be right
to ask why they are being slugged $135 for a visa when other tourists can pay a
fee as low as $20 – that is sending the wrong message to what will soon be our
largest tourist market that we don't value their visitations as much as
others," Tourism & Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said.
The tourism industry has
been growing rapidly at a time of decline in the mining industry, with
international arrivals up 6.7 per cent to 6.7 million and spending up 13 per
cent to $34.8 billion in the 12 months ended September 30. But in a pre-budget
submission obtained by The Australian Financial Review, TTF argued arrivals
could increase even more rapidly if policy changes were made.
"International
research has demonstrated that competitive visa reforms can increase tourism
arrivals by between 5 to 25 per cent on average over a three-year period,"
Ms Osmond said. "If we applied this potential boost to our Chinese visitor
market we could see an extra 255,000 Chinese visitors over three years on top
of the 20 per cent annual growth we've had in recent years."
The new pilot 10-year
multiple entry visa for Chinese passport holders comes with a $1000 application
fee, versus similar products from the US for $215, Canada for $105 and
Singapore for $28.
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