A strong rise in the number of tourists from China, Hong Kong and India contributed to 6.5 per cent growth in international arrivals to Australia in the month of August.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows number of short-term arrivals from China, Hong Kong and India all rose by 16 per cent in August, which compared with 7 per cent from from the United Kingdom, 5.5 per cent growth from New Zealand and 2.2 per cent growth from the United States. On a rolling 12-month basis, the number of arrivals has also increased by 6.5 per cent to 7.18 million.