Bullish long-term tourism picture predicted by experts
Enhanced business ties — supported by factors including the bilateral free trade deal and more direct flight routes — will further boost people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation between China and Australia in the long run, according to experts.
In the wake of the announcement that 2017 was the China-Australia Year of Tourism, a total of eight new aviation routes between the two countries are expected to be opened by the end of 2018.
Air China launched its first non-stop flight connecting Beijing with Brisbane, capital of the state of Queensland, earlier this month in a move which benefitted tourists from both countries.
The airline currently operates over 40 flights per week between Australia and China.
Eager to grab greater market share in China’s eastern region, China Eastern Airlines also announced in September plans for a daily Shanghai-Brisbane flight — to enable Chinese visitors to choose the city as their entry point to Australia, while also providing easy access to other destinations in Queensland.
Jiang Yiyi, director of the international department at the China Tourism Academy in Beijing, said Australia’s strong economy, supportive policies and mature tourism facilities would help to nurture the growth and diversification of Chinese tourist travel to the country in the long run.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia has witnessed doubledigit growth this year, and is expected to reach 1-1.2 million trips, according to research by the China Tourism Academy.
According to the research, the majority of Chinese tourists heading overseas have middle to high incomes, with three-fourths spending between 5,000-20,000 yuan ($760-$3,040) on their travels this year.
The findings also showed they prefer medium-priced or budget hotels and tend to choose self-planned, customized vacations.
The two-way tourist flow between China and Australia recorded 2 million trips in 2016.
Spending by Chinese visitors in Australia has also hit an all-time high. The International Visitor Survey, a major tourism study, revealed last week that Chinese tourists spent $7.75 billion in Australia in the 12 months to the end of September 2017.
China was the second biggest source of international visitors to Australia with 1.33 million people, trailing only New Zealand with 1.35 million.
In total, more than 8 million tourists visited Australia in the 12-month period, staying a total of 268 million nights in the country and spending a record $31 billion.
Steve Ciobo, Australia’s minister for trade, tourism and investment, said that much of the growth in Australia’s tourism sector was being driven by visitors from Asia, including China and India.
An open capacity aviation agreement between Australia and China and significant visa reform have contributed to the 13 percent growth in spending by Chinese visitors, the survey showed.
“The rapid advance in technology in recent years means even cheap mobile phones are effectively palmtop computers, giving Chinese users instant access to real-time information on almost any topic,” said He Jingtong, a business professor at Nankai University in Tianjin.
Australia has already started to develop a peer-to-peer economy and new online payment approaches to better cater to Chinese tourists.