Australian Tourism On The Steady Rise

One of the areas that is closely being monitored by Australian migration officials nowadays is the tourism sector. Indeed, with Australia being a popular travel destination for a lot of people around the world, the tourism industry is likely to expand even more. And many people are closely observing the industry as it grows.

It should be noted that the tourism industry is still pretty much on the recovery stage after the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. Because of the slowing down of the world's economies , travel for leisure also dropped significantly. And being one of the centers of tourist travels, Australia did significantly experienced the effects of reduced tourist arrivals.

However, with the world's economy now starting to recover, tourism travel is also beginning to go up back to it's previous levels. It is interesting to note that Australia was in fact, one of the first countries to start getting up from the crisis. And with that, it was also able to to quickly resume operation for its tourism activities.

Indeed, the country has actually posted some impressive tourism figures in the last few months. According to statistics released by the government, the number of tourist arrivals have increased by at least five percent in the last three months. And officials are confident that these will go up in the future.

With that, Tourism Australia, the country's foremost tourism promotion industry have embarked on several programs aimed to further encouraging foreign travelers to visit the country. One of this is the $30 million investment made by the agency last June to promote Australian tourism in China. Tourism Australia is hoping to capture the interest of more than 46 million Chinese travelers each year, which is worth more $2 billion in the market.

On the other hand, Tourism Australia is also hoping to attract more visitors from Southeast Asia. As a start of their campaign, they have launched an Indonesian language version of the agency's official website. Tourism Australia officials are hopeful that, through this, they will be able to encourage Indonesian tourists to learn more about Australia and eventually head there. It is interesting to note that Indonesian tourist arrivals have grown significantly since last year, posting a 24 percent increase last March.

With this impressive figures and efforts, Australian tourism officials are enthusiastic that they will be able to further expand the industry. However, they said that they are still not you going to slow down in their work and even strive more to attract more travelers.

Tony Abbott announced a cut to Australia's Immigration

The Coalition announced a plan to slash Australia's immigration programs in order to decrease the country's population.

Australia is said to be one the countries with the highest population growth rate. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics population clock, the country's population has increased by nearly a quarter of a million people to 22,397,892.

In view of this fact, Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced that the Coalition Government will cut the migration intake of the country for the next three years.

"The Coalition's population and immigration policy acknowledges the importance of immigration but reaffirms we will determine who comes to our country and the circumstances under which they come," Mr. Abbott told The Sunday Mail.

The said cut will mainly focus on family and Australia student visa programs, while Australian skilled migration would largely be quarantined. According to the opposition leader, the Coalition would keep skilled migration numbers up, but would put down the "dubious educational and family-reunion applicants". Although the Coalition doesn't put a figure on it, the policy would put Australia on track for a population in 2050 of well below 36 million.

Opposition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison uttered that rapid population growth must not rob future generations of the "quality of life and opportunities we enjoy". "We believe Australians are looking for payment up front on infrastructure and services before they will support a higher rate of population growth," he said.

The Coalition policy announcement will also commit the Government to population growth rates being set by the Productivity and Sustainability Commission, based on delivery of improved infrastructure and services. Also, two-thirds of the permanent migration program (which totals about 180,000 a year) will be reserved for skilled migration. While sponsored skilled-work visas and temporary skilled-work visas (457 visas) would be quarantined at existing levels, the humanitarian intake would also remain the same.

REFERENCES:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/tony-abbott-to-cut-immigration-levels-in-2010-election-pitch/story-fn5z3z83-1225896463479
http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/coalition-will-cut-immigration-says-opposition-leader-tony-abbott/story-fn5tar6a-1225896532324

Tourist Must Haves

Getting an Australian travel visa is definitely one of the best ways you can spend your vacation. The country has a lot sights to see for different kinds of seasons. You will definitely enjoy your stay in the country down under.

But you know what? You will get to enjoy the continent even more if you come in well prepared. And so here are some of the things that you definitely would want to pack into your backs for your trip there.

Road Map

A definite must have for those who plan to do a lot of traveling around the continent. City road maps are very easy to find and can be bought from just about any bookstore. There are also maps made especially for tourists like you, which show the location of great tourist spots to visit. Make sure that you are getting the latest version of the map for the area you are going to.

On the other hand, if you are a bit of a techie, you can also invest in a small GPS unit. Coupled with the road map, this will give you a pretty accurate reading of your location in the country. Hand held units are actually very affordable, costing a little less than fifty dollars apiece.

Driver's License

If you don't want to go through all the hustle of the Australian public transport system, then you can always get a car and drive around. Just be sure that your license is accredited by the Australian transport department. However, in the instance that this is not the case, you can always opt to get an international license, though you will still have to go through a test.

Camera

And of course, no self respecting tourist would be traveling without a camera. These days, a lot of people would opt to bring digital cameras. For those who are more of the ordinary type of tourist, then the regular digital camera would be more than enough. However, if you are the type who is also somewhat of a photography nut, then you can go for those SLR type cameras used by professionals. These come with several attachments which will aid you in taking great photos.

And if you also want to get some videos, most digital cameras also have a video mode that lets you shoot right then and there. Also remember to carry loads of extra batteries and a tripod for taking great pictures while you're, say, at Uluru.

Image Sources:

Google Search

Experience a lot of wilderness

As rated for the past travelers rate who went to Australia and had their Australia travel visa for spending holidays around Australia is high and great percentage of visitors, contributing for the country. Many of the travelers and visitors that went in the country is extremely challenging their self to go out wild in many ways and many places.

One of this is getting wild experience on beaches. Which is definitely another reason of having a high percentage of visitors, travelers or also countryman's that really enjoys here. Having the great sceneries here is the one that attracts visitors to come in here. For the travelers that seeking for information's about the country's must see beaches, in this corner of the country you can check out beaches. Here are them:

South East Coast (Sydney) – Central East (Brisbrane/Gold Coast)

North East Coast (Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Islands)

South West (Perth)

North West (Exmouth, Ningaloo Reef, Broome, Kimberley)

The country really has it seemingly great beaches weather in not an exactly warm beach, an all year hot beach and fine temperature beach.
 

Another wild experience here is the theme park craze. Many of Australian have a lot of experience in theme park here in our country. They are mostly families and kids do love having a bonding in a theme park. For the travelers to have a great view of this, Here a list of great theme parks for them. Along Queensland, the Gold Coast have its great theme parks such as Sea World, Movie World and Wet'n'Wild Water World all owned by Warner Village Theme park which is joint owned by Warner Bros and Village Roadshow, and another popular theme park along Gold Coast is the Dreamworld, for it has a lot of rides and must see shows out there namely World of wildlife, Worlds at night, World of skills, World of thrill rides, World of family fun, World of shows, world of wiggles and World of nickelodeon. Its best to have an experience in one of the theme park here more often for the travelers who wants thrilling experiences.

And the most thrilling, and definitely the wildest experience is the Kangaroo island experience. One of the most admired island that the visitors or travelers enjoyed most to visit on, is the South Australian Island, namely “Kangaroo Island”.

Whats great in visiting Kangaroo island?

For the wild travel seeker, You can live in a wild for a day or not only for a day because, there are a lots of accommodation you can choose out there weather a lodge and retreats, hotel or motels, hostel and a lot more. Getting back to Kangaroo island, it is thought as the Australia's great scenic treasure because of the preservation of its wonder and the animals that lives there.

A lot of island animals that lives in Kangaroo island that really attracts the visitors. Kangaroo's, Tammar Wallabies, Seals, Heath Goannas, Echidnas, Little Penguin's Koalas and a lot more animals is one one of the main attraction in this island. There's a lot more to see in Kangaroo island because it is said to be the second largest island in South Australia system of islands after Tasmania. A lot and a lot more sites to discover the country Australia. Definitely the coolest place a traveler can go.

Reference sites:

http://www.bugbog.com/beaches/australia_beaches/australia_beaches.html

http://goaustralia.about.com/od/discoveraustralia/a/themeparks.htm

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/

http://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/

Image References

http://www.bugbog.com/images/galleries/australia-pictures/australia-kangaroos.jpg

http://local.my247.com.au/247venue_images/7594-2007326-dreamworld1.jpg

http://www.ourbrisbane.com/files/imagecache/200x200/attached_pictures/300x300_roller_coaster.jpg

http://carladaltoncelebrations.com.au/files/images/GoldCoastBeach1.png