An extra 100,000 Chinese tourists visited the Gold Coast in 2017

SHEER weight of numbers will keep the Chinese tourism juggernaut rolling, even in the face of economic problems, say Gold Coast Tourism bosses.

Thumbs up: Chinese tourists at Cav's Steakhouse, Labrador. Picture: Glenn Hampson

SHEER weight of numbers will keep the Chinese tourism juggernaut rolling, even in the face of economic problems, say Gold Coast Tourism bosses.

With a population of more than a billion people, and around 51 million heading overseas every year, Australia and the Coast have barely scratched the surface of the potential market, says Gold Coast Tourism head Martin Winter.

This year an extra 113,000 Chinese tourists visited the Coast, bringing the total to 295,000, according to International Visitor Survey figures.

More than a million Chinese tourists visited Australia, spending $9.1 billion.

Mr Winter said the huge number of Chinese travelling overseas each year meant it would be hard for the market to collapse in the same way the Japanese one had a few years ago.

“The elephant is such a beast it will be hard to stop,” Mr Winter said.

“We’re getting less than 2 per cent of the Chinese market.”

An extra 100,000 Chinese tourists visited the Gold Coast this year. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Winter said the lion’s share of Chinese visiting Australia were coming to the Gold Coast because of aggressive marketing.

He said the organisation’s three permanent staff in Shanghai, along with five staff at their office able to speak Mandarin, also helped attract millions of dollars to the city.

“Chinese visitors to the Gold Coast accounted for 27 per cent of all Chinese visitors to Australia and (the city) remains the number one destination for this market in Queensland,” he said.

On the ground, tourism operators such as Australia Premium Holidays owner Nicholas Liu have reported a 10 per cent increase in business in the past year.

Mr Liu said rather than travelling in tour groups, more “free and independent” travellers were arriving.

Mr Liu, who is originally from Beijing, said in the past five years group tours had improved, with operators showing off the city’s natural beauty.

“Theme parks aren’t that important,” he said. “You can see them anywhere. Visitors like the Aussie lifestyle.”

Behind the Chinese, Kiwis were the next biggest market for the Coast, with 195,000 visiting this year.

The UK was third with 70,000, followed by Japan (56,000) and the US (38,000).

Overall, 1.014 million people visited the Coast in the 12 months to September — a 16.2 per cent increase on last year.

Originally published as An extra 100,000 Chinese tourists visited the Gold Coast in 2017