Australia's tourism industry is continuing its record smashing trend with annual Chinese visitor numbers hitting one million for the first time in data released by the ABS today.
China continues to be our fastest growing major source market, ahead of India with growth of 18.0 per cent for the same period. There were 177,900 more Chinese visitors in the year ending November 2015 than in the previous year (823,000), equating to growth of 21.6 per cent.
The Government has identified tourism as one of five key National Investment Priorities, leading to increased tourism infrastructure investment. We have, and will continue to, focus on targeted international marketing and undertaking visa reforms.
Our measures, such as opening a new Australian Visa Application Centre in Chengdu, China and streamlining visa application processes are making it easier for Chinese tourists to come to Australia, which will support continued growth into the future.
While the tourism industry is clearly thriving, there is still more work to be done to ensure we can cater for the increased demand into the future and to encourage tourists to visit our unique rural and regional areas.
Media release: Australia welcomes record one million visitors from China