Nov 13, 2007
Backpackers of America, rejoice! You can stay up to a year (and work) in Australia
Because backpackers don't have the fat wallets of business travelers or luxury vacationeers, the big glossy travel magazines don't pay much attention to them. However, the country of Australia has caught wise to the value of the backpackers' market. It has calculated that more than half a million visited their country in the year preceding March 2007, and that during that period, they spent some $2.8 billion of their dollars.
Some 48,000 of those backpackers were American. Cleverly, Australia's enlightened immigration authorities have decided, based mostly on these impressive figures, to give American backpackers a better opportunity to explore Down Under. As of the start of November, Australia introduced a new visa that will allow Americans aged 18 to 30 to legally spend up to a year in the country, working and travelling. The previous cut-off for American visitors was three months, after which they had to leave the country, and working was out of the question.
Anything that helps young Americans fund -- and therefore prolong -- their exploration of other cultures can only benefit our own country. As more and more countries, including our own, lock up their borders and turn their backs on even visitors from their allies, this new visa is now one of the few that can be enjoyed by young Americans.
To my mind, these news rules are a positive development not just for American youth who'd like to spend some time exploring a sister nation, but also for Australian industry, which now has access to a temporary work force that's willing to do jobs (picking fruit, waiting tables) that locals may not be keen to do themselves.
One of the directors of the Australian Tourism Export Council put a fringe benefit this way: "We will have a whole new generation of Americans who will have a first-hand love for and understanding of Australia, who will have friends and roots here, and who will hopefully return to visit again and again throughout their lives."
And, by the way, what are the immigration authorities of our own country doing to ensure a whole new generation comes to love America, and what are we doing to encourage peaceful and mutually beneficial visitation? The gloomy answer: Nothing, which is why our international visitor numbers and our reputation abroad have been taking dramatic plunges over the past few years.
Write and read comments about this post.
Some 48,000 of those backpackers were American. Cleverly, Australia's enlightened immigration authorities have decided, based mostly on these impressive figures, to give American backpackers a better opportunity to explore Down Under. As of the start of November, Australia introduced a new visa that will allow Americans aged 18 to 30 to legally spend up to a year in the country, working and travelling. The previous cut-off for American visitors was three months, after which they had to leave the country, and working was out of the question.
Anything that helps young Americans fund -- and therefore prolong -- their exploration of other cultures can only benefit our own country. As more and more countries, including our own, lock up their borders and turn their backs on even visitors from their allies, this new visa is now one of the few that can be enjoyed by young Americans.
To my mind, these news rules are a positive development not just for American youth who'd like to spend some time exploring a sister nation, but also for Australian industry, which now has access to a temporary work force that's willing to do jobs (picking fruit, waiting tables) that locals may not be keen to do themselves.
One of the directors of the Australian Tourism Export Council put a fringe benefit this way: "We will have a whole new generation of Americans who will have a first-hand love for and understanding of Australia, who will have friends and roots here, and who will hopefully return to visit again and again throughout their lives."
And, by the way, what are the immigration authorities of our own country doing to ensure a whole new generation comes to love America, and what are we doing to encourage peaceful and mutually beneficial visitation? The gloomy answer: Nothing, which is why our international visitor numbers and our reputation abroad have been taking dramatic plunges over the past few years.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: australia, red tape, student travel
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
