China is anticipated to overtake New Zealand to become the largest source of tourists to Australia, marking a milestone change in Australia’s tourism industry.
Visitor arrivals from China to Australia have been surging over the past few years. The number of Chinese visitors at 1.14 million in June 2015 was 17.5% higher than the year before and almost doubled the arrival figure five years ago at 600,000 visitors.
In comparison, arrivals from New Zealand to Australia totaled 1.27 million in June 2015, growing at a stable rate albeit outpaced by China. A report by Australia’s leading online broker CommSec projects that mainland China and Hong Kong combined will be the largest source of tourists for Australia by July next year.
Australia received a total of 7.1 million foreign visitors last year, up 7.7% y-o-y. “Prosperity in Asia and the lower exchange rate for the Australian dollar helped drive up tourist numbers,” CommSec’s chief economist Craig James said.
“The government and the Department of Commerce must ensure that basic tourism facilities and other facilities such as hotels and transportation will meet the demand of the increasing number of visitors,” he said. The number of Australians heading abroad for tourism also grew steadily at around 2.3% in 2014.
“The influx of tourists is definitely great news to airlines, retail and transportation industries,” he said. Australia’s tourism marketing organizations and tour operators will also target China and other Asian markets for future development.(Translation by David)
