Tourism organisations have expressed disappointment and anger at a measure included in the federal budget which will inject $1.3bn to the government coffers, but will increase travel costs for everyday Australians. This measure, announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday, is an increase to the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) from $60 to $70 from July 2024.
The PMC is the fee that international passengers are required to pay when departing Australia. It has remained at the same rate of $60 since 2012, and this increase will raise the total cost of international travel for Australians. The measure was introduced as a way of raising revenue for the government, with the money directed towards border security and biosecurity measures.
Margy Osmond, chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF), warned that the proposed tourism tax would be devastating to the travel industry as it attempts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As cost-of-living pressures mount and the travel industry continues to recover from the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic, it will be even more challenging for tourism to regain momentum and more expensive for international tourists to visit Australia, despite efforts to increase the number of visitors, since Australia’s international tourism is still lower than before the pandemic,” Ms Osmond said.
According to calculations from the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), the imposition of a $10 charge for all flights departing from Australia will bring in $1.38 billion in revenue by 2024/25.