Will tourism be the Federal Budget’s golden goose?

DAYS out from the Federal Budget, the tourism industry fears it may be viewed as the “golden goose” for a cash-strapped government.

Come on down ... Australia only sees one per cent of Chinese travellers, and the tourism industry blames the $135 visa fee and cumbersome application process. Picture: Mike Batterham

A PRICE hike for passports, increased visa fees and a tax crackdown on Airbnb hosts are among the measures the tourism industry fears will be unveiled in next week’s Federal Budget.

Cutbacks to the Tourist Refund Scheme and a revised backpacker tax are also tipped, as the government seeks to dig its way out of a fiscal bind.

Although Federal Tourism Minister Richard Colbeck insisted the industry was benefiting from the government’s “pro-growth policies”, previous increases in visa fees and taxes on backpackers gave tourism officials little confidence.

“Sadly the tourism industry is not only a golden goose but a reliably docile gander, and government knows it,” said Justin Wastnage, a consultant to the tourism industry and former Tourism and Transport Forum executive.

Expensive commodity ... Will an Australian passport cost even more after the budget? Picture: Getty Images

Although Australian passports were already among the most expensive in the world at $254, a price hike to $300 would raise an additional $90 million a year.

“It’s really a hidden cost on travel,” Mr Wastnage said.

There was also a widely held belief in the industry, the government may move to impose a “processing fee” on European visitors who currently visit Australia for free.

“The US recently introduced a $25 service fee for Europeans which was justified as being purely for cost recovery,” he said.

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“It would surprise me if the Department of Border Protection wasn’t looking at that US precedent as a way to claw back some money.”

The Tourist Refund Scheme that allowed Australian travellers to claim back the GST on new purchases taken out of the country was also an “easy target”, Mr Wastnage said.

“Nobody’s going to be up in arms about it being taken away from them,” he said.

Sign of things to come? Raising visa fees will only deter travellers from making the trek down under, the tourism industry warns. Picture: News Corp Australia

The Australian Taxation Office already had Airbnb in its sights, and backpackers look set to be taxed on every dollar they earn in Australia — it was just a matter of how much, Mr Wastnage said.

Tourism and Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond said the industry was sick of being treated as a government cash cow.

“Charging people more to visit Australia hardly screams “come on down”,” said Ms Osmond.

“I think the critical issue here is for the government to stop talking about tourism as being important and start recognising it as being important.

“We’re the industry the jobs are going to come from and it makes no sense being treated as a cash cow.”

Minister Colbeck said he was unable to comment on what was in the budget but tourism had been identified as a “supergrowth sector underpinning new jobs and growth in the economy”.

“Record tourism arrivals and expenditure from key markets is being driven through the Government’s pro-growth policies including streamlining visa applications, targeted marketing, increased aviation capacity and making tourism infrastructure a national investment priority,” he said.

Originally published as Will tourism be the Federal Budget’s golden goose?