“Chinese visitors are a gold-mine for Australia’s visitor economy – they stay longer and spend more than other nationalities,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.
The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) has welcomed the start of online visitor visa applications for Chinese nationals as a positive reform “that will help Australia remain competitive in attracting more visitors from this critical growth market”.
“Chinese visitors are a gold-mine for Australia’s visitor economy – they stay longer and spend more than other nationalities,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.
Online visitor visa applications for Chinese nationals replace paper-based visa applications. More than 1.2 million Chinese visitors travelled to Australia in the past 12 months.
“This is a clear sign that we are serious about making it easier for Chinese to visit and is a timely announcement for China Australia Year of Tourism,” said Osmond.
“We need to be playing every card in our hand because the international tourism market is cut-throat and we are up against destinations like Europe and North America that are aggressively targeting the Chinese market.”