Australia's tourism sector is calling for significant changes to the Working Holiday Visa to help strengthen the tourism sector.
Currently, the visa is for people aged 18 to 30 years, who are interested in a working holiday of up to 12 months in Australia.
This kind of visa allows travellers to supplement the cost of their holiday through short-term employment.
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Research has recently been conducted on the impact of Working Holiday Visas by the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University.
The findings show the visa has not been adapted to keep up with the economic times and people's evolving travel habits.
The study shows great benefits from the visa, according to DrJeff Jarvis from the National Centre for Australian Studies.
It showed that each backpacker or working holiday maker in a Victorian town spent just under $4,000 going out to the local pub, the movies, restaurants and shopping at the supermarkets.
There a number of myths surrounding the visa that need to be dispelled, before it can be improved, says Peter Ovenden is from the Australian Tourism Export Council.
"One is that they take Australian jobs, which they certainly don't. Second myth is that hospitality work is undervalued. In actual fact it is not," he says.
"I would say that if it weren't for Korean working holiday visa holders working at the Ayers Rock resort at Uluru, that resort would probably close down because there just are not the staff to man the resort," he adds.
A recent government study identified that at least six full-time jobs are created by tourism for Australians for every 100 visas given out, Dr Jarvis says.
By extending the Working Holiday Visa option to over-35s, Australia could attract visitors who are highly skilled in finance or accountancy for six-month stints, he says.
The tourism sector has also noted the challenges Australia currently faces - the high Australian dollar and a competitive market place.
It has acknowledged the importance for Australia to keep up with the rest of the world and for the need to make it as easy as possible for travellers to come to Australia.
"Increasingly, ... people are starting to take career breaks between 25 and 35 and what they would like to do is come to a destination, live for a while, work for a while and travel and that opens us up to that market.," Dr Jarvis says.
