Australia to welcome back Chinese tour groups

4 young Chinese on bridge Melbourne

Australia has officially been reincluded in China’s list of approved outgoing group travel destinations.

Australia’s return to China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme, for the first time since borders re-opened, will provide a boost for the visitor economy, further supporting the sector’s ongoing recovery.

The move has come as welcome news to the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) CEO Margy Osmond who said it comes as 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,” 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.”

In 2019, more than 1.4 million holiday makers from China spent $2.1 billion in Australia, including about $581 million spent by ADS group travel participants.

The announcement follows the recent launch in China of Tourism Australia’s successful $125 million Come and Say G’Day campaign.

The campaign kicked off on 29 June in China, and is already proving to be a success, with the television commercial receiving over 66 million views across all channels.

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