VIVAnews – The number of Indonesians visiting Australia has exceeded 100,000 people in 12-month period which ends in September 2009 that has set a new record for the Australian government.
“This is the first time in ten years that the Australian Statistics Bureau recorded 100,000 Indonesian visitors to Australian in 12-month period,” said Australian Ambassador for Indonesia Bill Farmer in a written statement to VIVAnews on Thursday, Dec. 10.
Farmer said that Australia welcomes the visit and suggests more visitor exchange between the two countries. He also said that there have been 400,000 Australians visited Indonesia.
There was a 55 percent increase of visitors to Australia in September – 16,400 among them were Indonesians – compared to the previous year. The Australian embassy suspected this increase was connected to the long-period Lebaran holiday.
The growing Indonesian tourists may still continue considering the significant number of tourist visa applicants received by the embassy every day prior to Christmas and New Year.
This year was also marked by the launching of work and tourist visa regulation, which gives opportunity to Indonesia-graduated and Australians whose age between 18 to 30 year old to work and go on vacation in a partner country for 12 months.
In the first year of the program, a hundred of Indonesians and Australians received work and tourist visas.
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Translated by: Ariyantri E. Tarman
