Australia reincluded in China’s list of approved outgoing group travel destinations

Tour groups from China will now be able to travel into Australia for the first time since the pandemic, heralding a huge boost for the regional visitor economy and tourism nationwide.

Tour groups from China will now be able to travel into Australia for the first time since the pandemic, heralding a huge boost for the regional visitor economy and tourism nationwide.

On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced Australia’s return to China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme, for the first time since borders reopened post-Covid.

ADS is an arrangement between the Australian and Chinese governments which allows Chinese tourists to travel to Australia in guided groups.

The Australian and Chinese government will work together to facilitate ADS travel and the Far North and Great Barrier Reef, being premium tourism destination for Chinese travellers, are likely to reap the benefits.

The landmark announcement was welcomed by local tour operators and is expected to provide a much-needed boost to the still-recovering Far North tourism sector, with groups now expected to flood back in to cafes, local stores and on the Reef.

Chinese visitors to Cairns are spending more money than tourists from any other country. Qin Mei Yu and her mother Hong Yu are visiting Cairns for the first time, and buying goods which are much dearer in China. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

It comes after the recent launch of Tourism Australia’s successful $125m Come and Say G’Day campaign in China, which kicked off late June this year.

Prior to the pandemic, Chinese visitors were Australia’s largest and most lucrative international market, with 1.4 million travelling inbound per year.

Chinese tourists accounted for a third of all spend with expenditure close to $5000 a trip.

In 2019, Tropical North Queensland received more than 100,000 Chinese travellers on an ADS tour alone.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen acknowledged the significant behind-the-scenes diplomacy work that had gone into achieving this outcome.

“Greater China was Tropical North Queensland’s largest international holiday market before the pandemic representing 20 per cent of international visitors with the majority travelling to Cairns via a capital city,” he said.

All airline links from Australia to China and from China to Australia were suspended until further notice, due to Covid. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

“It was also the second most prolific behind continental Europe for visitor nights so this announcement is a great relief for many of our industry who worked in this market.”

Currently just five per cent of Tropical North Queensland’s international visitors were from Greater China, he said.

“This presents a significant opportunity to regrow this valuable market which includes a very strong education tourism sector from Taiwan.”

Travel agents in Greater China were understood to be able to assist clients to plan and book their trips to Cairns and Great Barrier Reef with much less paperwork, giving travellers a shorter planning lead time.

“TTNQ is joining a delegation to Hong Kong for trade meetings starting on Monday to discuss the opportunities for tourism and freight to southern China, Hong Kong and Taiwan,” Mr Olsen said.

China Southern Airlines was one of the first to begin regular passenger flights between Cairns and mainland China. China Southern flight stewards. Picture: BRENDAN RADKE.

Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, Senator Nita Green welcomed the news and said it was a win for local businesses in Far North Queensland.

“Our government has backed the local tourism industry all the way – from protecting the Reef to providing $15m to TTNQ in our first budget, we support local tourism because we support local jobs.

Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell said it was “terrific” news as tourism was a huge employer and large export earner for the region.

Inbound Tour Operators and Tour Guides to participate in the scheme will be made soon.

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Thursday the ban would also be scrapped for the United States, Britain, South Korea, Japan, India and dozens of other countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.

Originally published as Australia reincluded in China’s list of approved outgoing group travel destinations