More than 1.3 million Chinese tourists came to Australia in last 12 months spending billions
AUSTRALIA may be locked in a war of words with their government, but Chinese tourists simply can’t get enough of us. They have flocked here in ever larger numbers in the past year, spending a whopping $3.2 billion in NSW alone.
NSW
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AUSTRALIA may be locked in a war of words with their government, but Chinese tourists simply can’t get enough of us.
They have flocked here in ever larger numbers in the past year, spending a whopping $3.2 billion in NSW alone. That’s up 20 per cent over the 12 months, with more than 1.33 million Chinese visitors now hitting our shores — putting them just behind New Zealanders, our largest tourist market. There are 1.35 million Kiwis who cross the ditch to Australia each year.
There were 752,000 Chinese visitors to NSW in the year ending September according to the International Visitors Survey to be released by Trade Minister Steven Ciobo today, making up a large number of the more than 4.1 million tourists in total visiting NSW.
Mr Ciobo said the government wanted to see “full planes flying from Shanghai to Sydney, Beijing to Brisbane and Guangzhou to Cairns”.
“We’re doing everything we can to grow to this vital market to get more tourists to Australia, doing so will create new jobs and drive economic growth,” he said.
“Chinese visitors love Australia and all we have to offer. They spend far more than any other tourists, pumping billions of dollars into our economy.”
The survey found the Opera House was the most popular attraction in the state, with 2.9 million international visitors, followed by the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi, Chinatown, the Rocks and the Blue Mountains.
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There were more than eight million international visitors to Australia over the same period, spending a record $41.2 billion.
Jiao Fanji, 27, said the weather and clean air was one of the main reasons Chinese tourists had fallen in love with Sydney.
She was at Bondi Beach yesterday taking a quick dip with her tour group and is in Australia on a trip from Henan province.
“The weather is very well here and the people here is very friendly,” Ms Fanji said.
“I think the Opera House is the most famous site to look at and the bridge.
“Some people want to do shopping here and (buy) a lot of Australian products like the fish oils.”
She said Australia’s warm climate at this time of year was also a selling point.
“Because we are in the different part of the earth, when it is winter it is summer here,” Ms Fanji said.
Fellow Chinese tourists Caihui Li and Li Dong said the natural beauty of the country made Australia a popular destination for holiday-makers from their northwestern Chinese province of Shaanxi. “The view here is (great) you can’t see this in China,” Ms Li, 45, said. “I think the most exciting thing here is the view.”
Ms Dong 47, said she loved the local culture and was enjoying the sumptuous Australian food during her three-week holiday.
GREAT HALL OF CHINA
■ $41.2b was spent by international tourists in Australia
■ 3.8m international tourists visited Sydney
■ 2.9m visitors went to the Opera House, NSW’s most popular attraction, followed by the Harbour Bridge and Darling Harbour
■ $10b was spent by Chinese tourists in Australia, with $3.2 billion splashed in NSW
■ 1.33m Chinese tourists visited Australia, putting them just behind the 1.35 million Kiwis
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