| The number of British backpackers choosing Australia | | | | months with each single employer has made |
| for theirworking holiday dipped slightly last year but the | | | | Australian working holiday even more attractive, and |
| Brits are still the single largest group of travellers to | | | | this year the working holiday visa programme is |
| Australia. The latest annual Australian immigration | | | | expected to see a further rise in numbers and an |
| figures show that out of 111,973 working holiday visas | | | | anticipated pick up in the number of British visitors. |
| issued by the Australian Department of Immigration | | | | Economically, Australia benefits from a steady stream |
| and Citizenship in 2006, nearly a quarter a quarter of | | | | of working holiday makers. A study by the Melbourne |
| those visas went to UK (28,353) citizens. Overall | | | | Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research |
| Australia admitted 7.3 per cent more working holiday | | | | found that the average stay of a working holiday |
| makers than they did in 2005, and the British were | | | | maker in Australia is for nine months, during which they |
| closely followed by the South Koreans (23,536), Irish | | | | will have spent an average of $16,000. Based on just |
| (12,369), Germans (11,925), Japanese (9,102), Canadians | | | | 80,000, working holiday makers are estimated to take |
| (6,754) and French (6,044) taking up most of the | | | | up the equivalent of about 41,000 full-year jobs, but |
| remaining visas. | | | | about 49,000 full-year jobs are created through their |
| Last year's decision by the Australian Government to | | | | expenditure resulting in a net gain of 8,000 full-year |
| allow working holiday makers to work for up to six | | | | jobs. |