Call for single Australia and New Zealand tourist visa
Saturday, 25 Apr, 2016
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Tourism leaders in Australia and New Zealand have again called for a single visa policy allowing foreign visitors to visit both countries on a single visa.
The Australian Tourism and Transport Forum and the Tourism Industry Association NZ have partnered to urge their respective immigration and tourism ministers to implement it by the end of the year.
A Trans-Tasman dual visa would encourage longer stays, said Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmand.
"The reality is that if you are coming halfway around the world to Australia or New Zealand you want to make it worth your while, just as travelling to Europe we visit a multitude of countries on that continent, not just one," said Osmand.
"Let’s invite people down here, give them a joint-visa so they can visit both countries and stay a little longer."
A single Trans-Tasman visa was implemented on a temporary basis during the 2015 Cricket World Cup which hosted matches in both countries.
"Lots of hurdles get raised about the systems not being compatible but we just keep coming back to the point that it was tried out during the cricket world cup for three months and it worked," Tourism Industry Association NZ chief executive Chris Roberts said.
Tourism leaders say it would be especially popular among Asians, and most notably the China market, as both countries are seeing record levels of inbound tourism from China.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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