Australian borders open but visitor bottlenecks remain

Australia’s international borders are open, but the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has conducted a survey that revealed 54% of export tourism businesses are experiencing visa delays which are still impacting bookings. These processing bottlenecks are raising concerns that international visitors will start to choose competing destinations for their international events. The issue of Australia’s visas was raised in talks between the recently elected prime minister Anthony Albanese and the Indonesian Government this week. Peter Shelley (pictured), managing director of ATEC, welcomed Albanese’s discussions with the Indonesian Government: “Right now, we need to be doing everything in our power to welcome back international visitors by removing impediments which may encourage visitors to choose an alternative travel destination.” According to the recent ATEC survey, 55% reported their trade partners in market have reduced or stopped selling Australian holidays due to visa challenges. Impacts are being experienced predominantly among Southeast Asia including Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Malaysia. “The issues raised by the Indonesian Government are reflective of experiences across several of our international markets. Australia has a AUS$45bn (US$32bn) tourism export industry has been shut for two years due to our border closure, however slow visa processing is now hindering its recovery,” added Shelley.