More Australians Traveling Overseas

With all the sights to see in Australia, holiday visa holders have been continuously flocking to the country. Indeed, the Land Down Under has been quite a popular tourist destination in recent years. However, the scenario seems to different for local tourists.

According to the latest figures, more and more Australians are now traveling overseas for their holiday vacations. Just last August, the number of departures have increased over the same period last year, posting a growth of more than ten percent. And in the past few months, this number has actually surpassed that of incoming tourist arrivals these time.

According to some experts, one of the biggest reasons why a lot of Australians are opting to spend their vacations abroad is mainly to find new places to explore. This doesn't mean though that they are looking for something better than Australia,. As it is, since a lot of these Australian tourists have been in the country long enough, they have already probably seen most of the country's best sites. Thus, they would then want to see something different from the places that they have been used too.

On the other hand, there is another, purely economical, reason why a lot of Australians are traveling abroad. You see, the Australian economy has seen significant gains in the past few years. And this has considerably increased the value of the Australian dollar. For travelers, this simply means that they now have more value for their pocket money. 

As for the places that many Australians are now heading to, Indonesia ranks first, with about a quarter of the number of departures going there. The United States is also another favorite travel spot for many Australians, gathering around 15 percent of the tourists from the land Down Under. There are also countries in the Asian region that are fast becoming popular destinations for Australian travelers.

Not surprisingly, the Australian government welcomes this development. According to government officials, this is a good indicator that the country's economy is in a good condition. They also said that this will greatly help in the growth of the Australian travel industry.

However, they also added that Australia does need to put up more effort in attracting travelers. As it is, aside from getting more visitors into the country, Australia also needs to get its people interested in exploring its lands. Thus they urge the government to come up with more programs to encourage travel. And the government is not silent on this one, as they have already launched several programs in the past few months aimed at doing just that.

Mixed Reactions On The Decline Of Immigration To Australia

As a lot of people have probably known about Australia, migration still remains as one of the major issues affecting the country. Indeed, with the way immigration has been closely tied with the country, one can see how this would affect Australia. And because of these, the Australian government is closely monitoring the level of immigration to the country.

However, the current immigration data might actually have mixed reactions coming from many sectors in Australia. According to the latest figures, the number of immigrants who has arrived into the country topped at 240,000 people. This one is significantly lower than the 320,000 posted last year. As a consequence, the population growth rate (of which migration is a big factor of) decreased from last year's 2.2 percent to around 1.8 percent this year.

According to experts, the decline in immigration numbers is still attributed to the effects of the changes made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to the country's immigration programs. It can be recalled that the DIAC started the implementation of these new rules since early last yea. Many of these changes were intended to regulate the number of people going into the country. However, a lot of experts have said that these will likely cause a large decrease in the number of immigrants into the country.

Indeed, the figures are showing that there is a significant decline in the immigrant arrivals. Oddly enough, some sectors in the government are actually very welcoming of the development. According to immigration officials, these are actually the results that they are expecting. They also added that the lower immigration numbers will make it easier for the government to manage the population.

Interestingly, this one is in fact very much inline with current Prime Minister Julia Gillard's sustainable population policy. Gillard unveiled the plan during the recent federal elections held in the country last August, which she won. According to her, Australia needs to effectively control and manage its population in order to sustain its current rate of development.

However, the Australian business community is actually not well too impressed with the happenings. They said that the decline is likely to cause the country's economy a big deal. As it is, Australia is highly dependent on immigrant labor in order to make its economy run, and the decline in the number of people coming in will surely affect their businesses. Thus they urged the government to try to encourage more people to move into the country.

Embark On An Australian Motorcycle Journey

One of the best things about having an Australia tourist visa is that you get the chance to explore the country. With the continent's large size, you actually have a lot to explore. And what better way to explore the land down under than by simply hopping aboard a motorcycle and driving your way across the country's open roads.

You see, motorcycle tours are actually popular in Australia. In fact, riders from all over the world travel to the country in order to experience its terrains. And because of this, there are quite a lot of companies offering motorbike tours to specific places. But if you really want to get a different experience, then you can simply get on board and travel to the places that you like.

You can begin your journey up top by heading to the city of Cairns. This quaint little city at the northeastern coast of Queensland has many open roads that are quite good for your travel on two wheels. There are also quite a lot sights here that you might want to check out. For instance, the Kuranda Range near the Smithfield suburbs, is a popular route that a lot of riders take when traveling o and from Cairns.

Going further north from Cairns, you will be able to arrive at Port Douglas. This is actually one of the northernmost towns of the country. And if you fancy going for some fancy scenic spots here, then you have two options, as both the Daimtree Forest and the Great Barrier Reef are quite near here.

After enjoying the sights of the northern section of the country, then you can prepare yourself for the long journey to the western part of the country. Here, one of the good places to make a stopover is the city of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. This one is in fact the center-most town in Australia immigration and is the gateway to the famed outback. It is here that you can also get a good amount of supplies for your journey. And if you still have time, then you can head out for a drive to marvel at Uluru, which is located at the outskirts of the town.

Finally, you can cap your entire trip by taking your bike to the Great Ocean Road. This long stretch of road runs from Torquay to Warrnambool in Victoria. You will definitely have a relaxing time here, as the drive will take you near the ocean. And it is likely that you will encounter other riders here, as this one is also a popular route for motorcycle travelers.

Australian Tourism Continues Its Growth

According to the latest figures, the Australian tourist visa is one of the most popular visa types being applied for by those wanting to travel to the land down under. And the tourism industry is very welcoming of this. as it is indicative that the market is booming once again after the 2008 financial crisis. To top it off, the industry is set to receive a new bonus for this one.

As it turns out, it is not only visitors from the US or Britain who are heading to Australia. Many people coming from Asia are now also eying the continent for their next vacation. And other nationalities are also starting to look into the prospect of traveling to Australia for a time off.

Chinese tourists are the number one in terms of the number of people traveling to the country for leisure. According to the latest figures, the number of tourist arrivals from China grew by more than 20 percent this year as compared to last year. Observers attribute this to the growing Chinese economy and the slowly emerging middle class in Chinese society who have the money to spend for the trip.

And if things go out very well, China will become Australia's largest customer for tourism travel. According to the projections made by Austrade, it is likely that they will be receiving more than a million Chinese tourists each year by 2013. And Austrade officials expect that it will continue to boom beyond that period.

On the other hand, the boom is not only beneficial for tourism within Australia. As it is, the tourism industry in China itself is also quickly expanding to accommodate these eager travelers. These creates bigger openings for Australian tourism firms to do their business in China, thus also being able to expand in its domestic markets.

Many sectors closely related to the tourism industry also expect to take advantage of its growth. Airlines, for instance, will have one of the biggest benefits from the growth of tourism in Australia. According to China Southern Airlines president Tan Wangeng, the growth of the Chinese economy means that the Chinese people would be traveling a lot, thus opening more opportunities for their business. In fact, China Southern Airlines have established several new flights to Australia in the last few moths.

And aside from the Chinese, many other people are now looking forward to traveling to Australia. And this is greatly welcomed by the industry, as this is indicative that travelers were not fazed by the new immigration rules enacted by the Australian government.