Australia witnesses a record growth in Chinese travel expenditure

Visitors to Australia spent a whopping $32.5 billion over the year to March 2015, driven by increased spending from the Chinese, TTF CEO Margy Osmond said today.This expenditure represents a 9.6 per cent increase on the year to March 2015 – the highest annual growth rate on record – according to the latest International Visitor Survey (IVS) released today by Tourism Research Australia.

“This amazing result is underpinned by strong growth in Chinese visitors,” Margy Osmond said.“Chinese visitors were responsible for $6.4 billion of the total spend, or almost 20 per cent of total money spent by international visitors.“What’s more, the total spending by Chinese visitors grew by almost a quarter over the past year, which is also the highest growth rate on record.

“Sometime this year we hope to see Chinese visitors push through the one million visitor barrier.“This expenditure helps create and sustain jobs across Australia, in cities and in regional areas, and across a range of businesses including hotels, restaurants, bars and visitor attractions.“To capitalise on this growth in Chinese visitors we must ensure Australia remains welcoming and competitive internationally as a must-visit destination.