Australia Boosts Tourism Marketing in China

The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) has today announced it will inject its largest ever investment in China, starting from July.

Speaking at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2004 in Melbourne, ATC Managing Director, Ken Boundy said Australia would almost double its tourism marketing spend for China in the coming financial year.

"China is a market which offers incredible growth potential and we need to ensure that Australia is well positioned to maintain its status as an attractive destination for Chinese travellers," Mr Boundy said.

"In the coming financial year the ATC will boost tourism marketing dollars for China by almost eighty per cent, from $3.2 million to $5.7 million. This is the largest ever marketing spend for the country.

"The increased spend for the market will also fund the roll out of the new brand marketing campaign in China in November, to further stimulate Chinese travellers' interest in experiencing Australia first-hand."

Mr Boundy said the positive outlook expected for the market was evident by the record numbers of tourism wholesalers from China attending ATE 2004, with a 20 per cent increase in delegate numbers for this year's event.

"Despite the set backs experienced last year with SARS the market has bounced back in the first three months of 2004, with visitor arrivals from China jumping by 16 per cent in the March quarter," Mr Boundy said.

"Further growth is expected to drive a 25 per cent increase in Chinese visitors this year to a record 220,000 arrivals.

"The expansion last year of Australia's Approved Destination Status (ADS) to include six more provinces provides us with additional exposure to 350 million people in China.

"This is great news for tourism businesses looking to target this market, with tourist arrivals from China expected to increase by 18.5 per cent each year over the next decade - making it a top three market for Australia by 2013.

"Strong interest from the tourism wholesalers who sell Australian holidays in China will help us to achieve this exponential growth."

Mr Boundy said it was important for the tourism industry to be able to match the rapid expansion of the China market. 

"While we welcome the rapid growth from the market, it is vital that Australia's tourism industry has the product and experiences to match the expectations of vast numbers of Chinese travellers in the future."