Australia and New Zealand, due to their geographical proximity and close cultural ties, are often linked in the minds of prospective tourists.
But in order to visit both countries on a single trip, tourists need to apply for separate visas. That process can be particularly burdensome and expensive for visitors from growing inbound tourism markets like China and India relative those from traditional markets in North America and Europe due to differing requirements. 
And so on the eve of ANZAC Day Australia and New Zealand's peak tourism industry groups, Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) and Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ), have gone to the immigration and tourism ministers of both countries this week urging them to develop a permanent trans-Tasman tourist visa.
The move comes after the two nations last year cooperated during the Cricket World Cup in a deal that granted a three-month visa upon arrival in New Zealand to visitors holding an eligible Australian visa.
A New Zealand government study found that 40 per cent of the 7578 trans-Tasman visas issued during that period were to Chinese nationals, even though China did not have a team playing in the Cricket World Cup and is not known as a nation of cricket lovers.
"The reality is if that if you are coming halfway around the world to Australia or New Zealand you want to make it worth your while, just as travelling to Europe we visit a multitude of countries on that continent, not just one," TTF chief executive Margy Osmond said.
  Spreading the love  
Indian nationals were the second largest users of the trans-Tasman visas, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but there were also some visitors from countries like Indonesia and Vietnam that took advantage of the opportunity.
A TTF study in 2014 found a joint visa scheme could increase the number of international visitors to the region by 141,300 people by 2020, creating more jobs and economic activity.
Tourism Australia chairman Tony South this year said the short-term joint venture during the Cricket World Cup had "worked a treat" and encouraged future visa initiatives to help Australia remain competitive in the fight for international tourist dollars.
"It just happened to coincide with Chinese New Year, which was no bad thing," he said. "But there was a big growth in Indian visitors through that period last year." 
Tourism Australia and Tourism New Zealand cooperate in a limited way in the tourism market, such as operating joint booths at international tourism markets and events. But their marketing campaigns compete to attract visitors rather than encouraging international tourists to take a longer trip encompassing both sides of the Tasman.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler last year said he was open to some marketing cooperation with Tourism Australia but it was also good for both destinations to have independent propositions. "It would be quite messy if you tried to highlight them together," he said. 
But he warned it could prove logistically and financially complicated to do it on a permanent basis.
"It is quite an intriguing space because there are matters of sovereignty, there is also just the cost of the machinery you create to process visas and if you take away a big proportion of what they do, you have to downsize the machinery as well," he said.