The changes, introduced in the federal budget on Tuesday night, will drive the fee paid by Australians and tourists alike up from $70 to the new rate — a near 200 per cent increase since its introduction in 1995.It's a move that has upset industry bodies who say the increased fee will dissuade travellers from booking journeys, hampering tourism and the expenditure that comes with it.While many countries employ similar revenue-raising structures in their tourism sectors, Australia's departure tax is already one of the highest in the world A spokesperson for Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell told SBS News that the government "remains committed to ongoing modernisation of the border"."Australia's experience has been that relatively small increases to the PMC do not have a measurable effect on international visitation."Following the last $10 increase in the PMC, short-term international arrivals increased by 5 per cent year-on-year, rising from 7.97 million to 8.40 million visitors."Gui Lohmann, professor of aviation and transport at Edith Cowan University, told SBS News that while he does not believe the additional price increase will have a major impact on the volume of people travelling, the government does have a duty to reinvest the money it is raising