CHINESE GROUP TRAVEL IS BACK! TOURISM SECTOR CELEBRATES RETURN OF CHINESE TOUR GROUPS TO AUSTRALIA

The Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) Australia has welcomed China’s decision to resume group tourism to Australia as a win for Australia’s tourism industry.

TTF CEO Margy Osmond said the long-awaited announcement is a relief for tourism operators across the country.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome back even more Chinese visitors. The immediate return of group tours from China to Australia will help our sector recover,” Ms Osmond said.

“Since borders reopened, Chinese visitors have been slow to return to Australia, with tourist numbers struggling to reach even half of pre-Covid levels.

“The drop in Chinese visitor numbers has had a significant impact on our industry, given China was our largest source market for international tourism before the pandemic.

“We’ve been working hard to try and entice more Chinese visitors to come to Australia, with mass campaigns like Tourism Australia’s Ruby the Roo, but the lack of guided tour groups has been a major barrier.

“We hope we’ll now see more Chinese visitors return to our shores, further lifting our overall international tourism arrivals closer to pre-pandemic levels.”