Cashed-up Chinese climbing tourism ladder

CHINESE are on the way to becoming the new Japanese of Australian tourism.

Predicted to overtake Americans to become Australia's fourth-largest group of inbound holidaymakers this year, Chinese tourists are well on the way to moving up a spot at the expense of the Japanese.

And while the Japanese like to snorkel, the Chinese like to gamble. In 2009, 34 per cent of Chinese tourists visited a casino, compared with 16 per cent of all other tourists. The total inbound economic value per Chinese visitor (which includes business travellers, those visiting family and friends and tourists) was $7287, compared with $3420 for the Japanese.

Tourism Research Australia predicts there will be 531,000 Chinese visitors this year, up 21.9 per cent on last year. Chinese will make up almost half the total visitors.

Professor Roger March, a tourism researcher at Central Queensland University, said hotels and restaurants were broadening their service to meet the needs of China's growing tourist market.

"Tourism operators are trying to understand how to produce service to the Chinese in terms of the meals they want, and what they want in hotels. Things like making sure there are noodles on the service menu," he said.

In 1999, Australia became one of the first Western countries to be granted approved-destination status by China.