Into the great wide open

This year approximately 12,000 young Irish people are expected to travel to Australia. Interest levels in the Anti-podean continent as a work and holiday destination are "at an all-time high without a doubt", says Aideen Masterson, marketing manager with Usit NOW, a student-travel service.

According to Tom Sinkovits, the charge d'affaires at the Australian Embassy in Dublin, this is "a growing trend". Last year 10,000 working/ holiday visas were issued to young people from this State, with the upper age limit being 26. "This year it's heading up to around 12,000."

These figures compare with the one for Britain, where "we issue 30,000 per annum", he says. The embassy here does not have any cap this year on the number of visas it is going to issue.

Young Irish graduates "go and experience work in various places, such as the hospitality industry. They also work in companies such as accountancy, computer and financial companies. They tend to work for three months on average in one company and they tend to move around and experience different states," he says. "They usually stay for about 12 months, living and moving around and being exposed to our culture in a broader sense, rather than going for a specialist holiday."

The downside cited by one student who made the journey is the tax rate that applies to foreigners on temporary working visas: it's a flat rate of 29 per cent, with no allowances and no benefits.

Young graduates usually find, says Sinkovits, that "it's a familiar place. They find fairly instant acceptability." This is largely because, he explains, so many Australians claim Irish ancestry.

"There are no troubles with the language. Our culture and the Irish culture are pretty close. They feel pretty at home a lot."

For many of them, it's their first major trip abroad and "Australia is a very benign environment. People recognise that and they feel at home," he says.

Australia is also growing in popularity here simply as a holiday destination. The Irish figure is up to almost 38,000 per annum in short-term visas, which cover visits of up to three months. This compares with larger European countries such as France, which accounts for 44,000 per annum.

Due to the increased demand for information and advice, Usit NOW ran a series of information evenings to inform students and young people about Australia and New Zealand in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Derry and Belfast. This "huge interest" is focused in particular on the working/holiday visa. The two-hour sessions each evening were packed out, according to Masterson.

Students want advice on visa regulations and medical requirements. The travel specialists also prepared a pre-departure information and arrival package. This was available to Usit NOW customers who had booked their travel arrangements through one of its offices. For an extra £45, they got two nights' accommodation, an airport bus transfer ticket, a handbook, a VIP backpackers membership and a free usitmail email account. Other extras in the package include a travel discount and phone card with voicemail facility.

The pull of Australia for young people has become particularly strong in the last two to three years, according to Frank Grennan, managing director of Gemma Publications and a council member of the Irish Australian Business Association.

"It's the fashionable thing to do now - whereas they used to go to the States," he says. "It's seen as a career break. "It's a very, very friendly place. They don't feel too far away even though it's thousands of miles. And there are just so many Irish people out there."

His own daughter, Sarah Grennan (23), a journalist, is in Australia working and travelling. "My daughter went out in November on a working visa. She's enjoying it immensely." Her father has advised her not to view the trip as a career move. "She's out there to enjoy herself."