The worrying tourism statistic that will potentially cost Australia billions
Australia’s tourism industry is reeling from new statistics that could cost it up to $6 billion a year as the number of Chinese visitors falls dramatically.
According to Tourism Research Australia, the number of Chinese travelers to Australia is now less than half of pre-Covid-19 pandemic figures.
In 2019, Chinese tourists pumped more than $12 billion into the Australian economy, but their numbers are now so low. Qantas is canceling its Sydney to Shanghai route due to a lack of demand.
“Since Covid, demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected,” said Cam Wallace, CEO of Qantas International. news.com.auadding that their planes were often only half full.
The massive drop in Chinese visitors “has had a significant impact on the tourism industry,” said Margy Osmond, CEO of Tourism and Transport Forum Australia.
Australia’s tourism industry is reeling from new statistics that could cost it up to $6 billion a year as the number of Chinese visitors falls dramatically. Chinese tourists are pictured at the Sydney Opera House
Tourists, including some from China, watch the sun rise at Uluru
Ms Osmond said China was one of Australia’s largest sources of international tourism before the pandemic.
There has been a large increase in domestic tourism in China in recent years. “But we are working hard to attract more Chinese visitors to Australia and we hope to see more Chinese visitors return to our shores,” Ms Osmond said. .
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the number of short-term Chinese visitors in March 2024 was just 47 percent of March 2019 levels.
Tourism in the other direction has also fallen, but much less, with the number of Australians traveling to China now at 85 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
The previous boom in Chinese travelers was a huge boost to the economy, as they often spend big.
In 2019, Chinese visitors to Australia spent an average of $9,336, a total of $12.4 billion.
Tourists from other countries spent much less in the same year: Americans spent $5,130 (total of $3.9 billion), British visitors spent $4,999 (total of $3.4 billion) and New Zealanders spent $2,004 (total of $2, 6 billion).
A family from Shanghai, China, are pictured in the surf at Bondi Beach, Sydney
Chinese tourists are pictured taking photos in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge
But while tourist numbers coming to Australia from the US, UK, New Zealand and India have soared since the end of the pandemic, Chinese numbers have not.
Experts say the factors keeping Chinese tourist numbers low include political and trade tensions that built up under former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, high airfares and China’s economy, which is not as strong as it has been in the past decade.
However, Tourism Australia believes things will improve soon.
“Although China travel reopened a year later than other markets (post-Covid), we are confident in its recovery as the market continues to steadily rebuild,” a spokesperson said.