People walk in downtown Sydney, Australia, September 4, 2020. Photo by Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that the 10-year frequent traveler visa program would be extended to eligible ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste.
His announcement was made at the special ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne, where he hosted the leaders of Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste, according to a press release from the official ASEAN website. the Australian Prime Minister.
Additionally, the business visitor visa will be extended from three to five years.
The frequent traveler visa system allows visitors to stay for up to three months at a time.
Australia had previously allowed Chinese tourists to apply for a 10-year visa as part of its efforts to increase arrivals from the world’s second-largest population.
However, Australia is losing out as Chinese tourists flock to Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia thanks to the visa-free policy, tourism experts said.
Before the pandemic, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were among the largest tourism markets for Australian inbound tourism.
In 2019, visitor arrivals from Southeast Asia peaked at 1.5 million visitors and added around A$4.2 billion (US$2.7 billion) to the Australian economy, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
