SYDNEY, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Having welcomed a rising number of Chinese tourists since the beginning of this year, Australia's peak tourism body is upbeat about a further boost coming from its number one market, especially after China announced the resumption of group tours to several overseas destinations.
"We are pleased to see that Chinese travelers have been returning to Australia in a growing number since the start of the year and can't wait to welcome many more back in the coming months and years," Managing Director of Tourism Australia Phillipa Harrison told Xinhua in a written interview.
Starting on Aug. 10, travel agencies and online tourism service providers in China can resume offering group tours to a longer list of countries and regions, including Japan, Britain, the United States and Australia.
Harrison regarded the coming back of Chinese group travelers as "good news for the Australian tourism industry" which would help to support the ongoing recovery of the country's visitor economy.
"Chinese travelers have been returning to Australia since the start of the year and the return of the group travel segment will provide another important boost," she said.
Until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism had been one of Australia's fastest-expanding industries over a long time span and become an established economic pillar.
"In 2019, the Australian tourism industry was delivering 152 billion Australian dollars annually from both domestic and international activity. It was an industry, which supported one in 13 Australian jobs, and the lifeblood for many Australian communities," Harrison noted.
"China is a vital market for the Australian tourism industry, in 2019, we welcomed 1.4 million visitors from China, contributing 12.4 billion Australian dollars to our visitor economy, more than any other market," said the managing director. "We were also seeing Chinese travelers dispersing beyond our major cities and into our regional cities and rural areas."
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, cast a shadow over Australia's travel and tourism sector. Data from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade suggested that international tourist arrivals declined by 73 percent in 2020.
During the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2023 held in Queensland, Harrison made a remark that "the tourism industry will not recover fully until China comes back."
From her perspective, China as Australia's number one inbound tourism market would play an important role if the industry aims to shake off the impacts of the pandemic and bounce back to its 2019 levels.
"China will be key to the recovery which is why we moved quickly to launch our campaign and are encouraging Chinese travelers to 'Come and Say G'day'," Harrison told Xinhua.
After hosting the 43rd edition of its flagship ATE conference from April 30 to May 4, which a 135-strong delegation of Chinese buyers attended to network with Australian tourism operators, Tourism Australia has launched a global "Come and Say G'day" campaign in China to attract more travelers.
"Underlying demand for an Australian holiday remains strong in China," said Harrison. "The launch of 'Come and Say G'day' took place in Chengdu in June and we are pleased that the campaign is already proving to be a success."
As Harrison observed, Chinese travelers are returning to Australia in numbers.
"According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' latest international arrivals numbers, inbound travel from China returned to 46 percent of 2019 levels in June 2023 compared to the same month in 2019," Harrison told Xinhua.
She also cited figures from Sydney Airport, which showed that in July more Chinese travelers passed through the international terminal than any other inbound market for the first time since 2019.
"We expect as aviation capacity between our two countries continues to grow, the number of travelers will too," said Harrison. (1 Australian dollar equals 0.64 U.S. dollars) ■
