Tourism ministers converge on Hobart to work on strategies to lure Chinese

CHINA will top the agenda when Australian tourism ministers converge on Hobart for talks next week – the first time since 1995.

CHINA will top the agenda when Australian tourism ministers converge on Hobart for talks next week – the first time since 1995.

Federal Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo will chair the ­informal discussion, with the Tasmanian Visitor Engagement Survey expected to be released at the meeting.

Mr Ciobo said Australia was seeing “good numbers of international tourists who are staying longer and spending more”.

Federal Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo. Picture: TOM HUNTLEY

“One of the standouts is Tasmania,” he said. “You are enjoying a strong surge. You have the first-class attractions of Mona and Salamanca as well as natural ­attractions like Cradle Mountain, but you need to see continued investment to keep hotel infrastructure up to date.”

Local tourism chiefs said plateauing visitor numbers were proof more infra­structure was needed.

Tourism had been identified as a growth section of the economy as Australia transitioned from ­investment in the mining and resources sectors, Mr Ciobo said.

The national growth in tourism had been driven by the Chinese and, in Tasmania, by the visit of the Chinese President in 2014, he said.

The key areas up for discussion in Hobart are preparation for 2017, the Australia China Year of Tourism, and regional tourism investment.

“I’d like to co-ordinate a ­national response – a national delegation of Aussies to China – a co-ordinated response not a haphazard one, to drive a concerted push to fly the Australian flag,” Mr Ciobo said.

The second item will be a discussion on attracting tourism investors to regional areas.

In 2015, Chinese visitor spending in Australia reached a record $8.3 billion – 45 per cent more than the previous year, making China the fastest-growing tourism market.

For the 12 months to February this year, Australia welcomed 1,073,800 Chinese visitors, up 22.4 per cent on the previous period.

Tourism Research Australia estimates China is poised to overtake New Zealand as Australia’s largest tourism market.

Originally published as Tourism ministers converge on Hobart to work on strategies to lure Chinese