January jump: tourism gets huge boost from China

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This was published 12 years ago

January jump: tourism gets huge boost from China

Far from leaving us with a hangover, the recent Chinese New Year party has given Australia a huge tourism boost.

Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) says thanks to Asian holidaymakers coming down under to celebrate the lunar new year, our international arrivals jumped 4.8 per cent in January.

Bureau of Statistics figures on overseas arrivals and departures, released on Tuesday, show a surge of 27.4 per cent from China with increases of 22 per cent from Hong Kong, 19 per cent from Taiwan and nearly 14 per cent from Indonesia.

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TTF Chief Executive John Lee said arrivals from China have been growing strongly for some time.

"China represents a massive opportunity for us, which is why Tourism Australia is rightly focusing on lifting its presence in more Chinese cities," Mr Lee said in a statement.

"Australia has enjoyed Approved Destination Status longer than all of our rivals, and Chinese visitation has risen on average 11 per cent per annum since 2001."

Mr Lee said it is critical Australia keeps building on that momentum as our competitors are only too aware of China's tourism potential and are making substantial investments to attract larger shares of the market.

"The most recent annual figures show more than one million Chinese travelled to the US, up 36.2 per cent on the previous year, compared to annual growth of 17.1 per cent to Australia.

"While smaller numbers of Chinese are travelling to the UK and Canada, they are also seeing faster growth than Australia, at 32.0 per cent and 24.4 per cent respectively," he said.

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Mr Lee said Tuesday's figures clearly demonstrate the urgency of increasing support for Tourism Australia's activities in China.

Outbound travel by Australians rose 4.7 per cent in January, with the annual growth slowing to 9.1 per cent.

Departures to Thailand rose 7000 (up 17.9 per cent), the US increased 5500 (up 11 per cent) and Vietnam 2700 (up 12.3 per cent).

AAP

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