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May 19, 2011 – As many backpackers use the area they’re working in as a base to explore Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, the federal government’s Australian work holiday visa, a type of working visa in Australia, have become a driving force in attracting backpackers, according to an academic.
During the 2011 Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Backpacker & Youth Industry Conference at Airlie Beach this week, Tuesday, Jeff Jarvis from the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University have presented his research on the Working Holidaymaker Visa (WHV).
According to Dr. Jarvis’s research, the study discovered that WHV holders in the popular tourist town of Mildura, Victoria have spent just under $4000 each, which stressed on how these tourists use Australia in a different way to leisure backpackers.
Dr Jarvis said during his presentation, “The interesting factor that’s happening now is the rise in the Australian dollar”.
“It means there’s an economic incentive for them to work longer, and you’ve got on top of that the growth of budget airlines.
“Ten years ago you’d come to Australia and you’d stay just in Australia, but now Australia’s being seen as a jumping-off point for the wider Asia-Pacific region.”
This means that with backpackers being granted with short-term working tourist visa Australia, they now have the incentive to work while holidaying.
Working holidaymakers, holders of work visa for Australia, are now similarly using Australia in the same way young Australians have used the UK for decades, Dr Jarvis said.
He said, “Importantly, that short side trip on a budget airline to Fiji or Vietnam can be seen as a positive factor in attracting them here in the first place as it ‘adds value’ to the Australian experience”.
Felicia Mariani, ATEC managing director, said that the organization had supported calls for the government to provide more attractive working holiday visa arrangements and to broaden the description that will allow travelers to stay an extra year in return for taking work in a regional tourism area.
Ms Mariani said that through the National Tourism Alliance, ATEC has called on the federal government to formulate changes to the WHV that would support the tourism industry’s labor and skills needs, particularly in regional Australia.
“We would particularly like to see the tourism industry positively supported by allowing travellers to extend their visa for up to 12 months by spending time working in a defined regional tourism job.”
To attract what have become known in the industry as “Flashpackers” who want to re-live the backpacking days of their youth but can now afford to do it in a much more comfortable fashion, Dr. Jarvis has urged the federal government to increase the age limit for WHVs from 30 to 35, to match Canada.
He said “Typically these travellers are often looking for valuable international work experience in a globalised world, and they want to bring their skills in design, information technology and finance to Australia for a year”.

Source:
smh.com.au