Qatar is not interested in attracting backpackers, according to the CEO of Qatar Airways .
“We want to attract people of a higher standard,” Akbar Al Baker told Melbourne's Herald Sun last week. “We like to attract all kinds of tourists as long as they are there for relaxing times, want a unique experience, want to see the culture and are very keen on the arts side of tourism.
The Herald Sun had asked Al Baker to weigh in on an Australia plan to drastically increase taxes on tourists with working holiday visas.
“Each country has its own vision and plans, and each country is also free to attract the kind of people they want,” Al Baker said.
Australia has long attracted youth from around the world with working holiday visas, allowing them to fund long stays in the country by working short-term, mostly in the tourism industry. The new plan will implement a 32.5 percent tax on all of their earnings, which are currently exempt from tax for the first AU$18,000.
The backpacker and youth tourism sector is huge globally, estimated at more $190 million a year, according to Student Marketing, a youth travel consultancy. This sector is expected to grow to $320 billion by 2020.
While youth travelers take longer trips and spend more overall as a result, according to Student Marketing, Al Baker was dismissive of the economic benefit of attracting such tourists: “Normally the backpackers are just there to lie on the beach and spend as little as possible.”