Tourism is predicted to surge more than 10 per cent a year, according to the business consultancy firm Deloitte which has nominated tourism as one of Australia’s super-growth sectors. However the hospitality industry says that to reach this potential, there is need for simpler visa rules for both employees and tourists including the introduction of a premium pathway for luxury travellers.

Billionaire James Packer’s Crown Resorts says VIP travellers should be able to use a dedicated path at Australia’s international airports, separate from the mass tourism market. The nation’s busiest airport, Sydney Airport, is also calling for a “premium” model for passengers willing to pay for it, according to a report in The Australian.

Ratcheting up its push around opening the door to Chinese tourists, Crown Resorts says to make Australia more attractive to “premium” tourists, Customs should provide a better service with fast-tracked arrivals and departures processing at major international airports.

On a more general note, the group warns that the tourism industry has “great difficulty” recruiting Mandarin-speaking staff; that the growth rate of visitors from China has halved in the past year; and without government action, Australia is at risk of losing out on the benefits of mass tourism from China and greater Asia.

Earlier this year, the federal government department responsible for tourism, Austrade, said that regional tourism is suffering and urgently requires workers in hotels, pubs and restaurants. It says that as early as next year, there will be a shortage of some 56,000 workers in the hospitality industry.  It has thus backed industry calls for increased flexibility of the 457 work visas and working holiday visas.

Austrade is seeking a lower English language competency threshold as well as a lower salary threshold for the foreign workers in the hospitality and tourism industry.

The Productivity Commission is currently looking at labour force mobility. Austrade believes that any changes to wage floors for 457 visa workers could have sweeping effects on Australia’s hotels, restaurants and cafes by making it easier for owners to hire staff from overseas and attract workers to regional tourist hubs

According to the latest DIBP statistics, in 2013–14 almost 4.0 million Tourist, Family Visitor and Medical Treatment visas were granted, an increase of 6.4 per cent on the previous year. There was also significant growth in the number of Chinese visitors choosing to visit Australia, up by 16.1 per cent in 2013–14. Members of China’s rapidly growing middle class are using their increasing disposable incomes to embrace global travel, with 700,000 Chinese visiting Australia last year, spending $4.8 billion. Forecasts suggest that could double to 1.4 million tourists and up to $9bn in spending by 2022-23.