This Budget has delivered little for Australian travel and tourism as it continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Australian travel and tourism has rebounded well from the pandemic restrictions but there is still work to do,” Australian Chamber – Tourism executive chair John Hart said.

“The latest ABS data released on Budget day shows that short-term visitor arrivals in March were still 9 per cent below pre-pandemic levels for the same period. More support in this Budget was critical.

“While we welcome sustained funding for Tourism Australia, more is needed to attract the travellers we need to and to assist them in a highly competitive international tourism market.”

The Budget was also a missed opportunity to improve the passenger facilitation process.

“Australia continues to rank poorly in competitiveness in the area of passenger facilitation in ports, which will affect our attractiveness as a destination and impact our ability to generate visitor spend,” Mr Hart said.

Australian Chamber – Tourism welcomes improvements to visa processes and access and $8.1 million to administer the Approved Destination Status scheme to support Chinese tourists travelling to Australia in guided groups.

“This funding will bring this crucial cohort of travellers back to Australia,” Mr Hart said.