The lure of Chinese tourists

With Australia already raising its hackles over the incoming ‘foreigners” it most certainly does not seem to have ruffled moods of the Chinese tourists visiting their country.

Though alarm bells were ringing loud and clear for some years now that the Chinese were buying out everything and anything in Australia, looks like more and more are pouring in, initially as tourists!

Australia’s statistics agency reported that the country received a record number of Chinese tourists. The ranks of visitors from mainland China have swelled so much that they now outnumber New Zealanders, long the top source of tourists to Australia.

Data showed that just under 1.4 million Chinese tourists visited Australia in the year to February and the annual flow of visitors from China is expected to double over the next ten years. 40% of these tourists travel on a package tour.

A decade ago, Chinese tourists accounted for less than 5% of global travel spending. Today, it’s approaching 25%.

Is our tourism ministry listening?