1、1Embrace Tourism BonanzaChinese outbound tourism enjoyed an explosive growth in recent years. The country has overtaken both USA and Germany to become the largest outbound market in the world with Chinese tourists now the top source of tourism cash， according to the United Nations World Tourism Orga
2、nization（UNWTO）. In the year ended June 30， China consolidated its position worlds biggest source of tourists in terms of both number of trips and money spent on travel. Latest data from the China National Tourism Administration show that Chinese outbound tourists grew by 13% year on year to 61.9 mi
3、llion. The growth rate in Chinese outbound tourists is higher than rate inbound tourists to China. About 65.1 million tourists visited China in the first half of 2015， up 4.5% compared with the same period last year. According to the tourism authority， Chinese tourists spent 260 billion dollars in t
4、raveling， up 14.5% from the same period a year earlier. In the full year of 2015， the total number of Chinese tourists traveling outside the country is expected to exceed 2110 million， according to a prediction from a Russia-based tourism council called World Without Borders. Chinas ever-expanding m
5、iddle class is enjoying rising incomes， improved living standards， a strengthening currency， improved aviation connections and more open visa policies. These factors have lead to a boom in outbound tourism. Many countries want to get a slice of the explosive growth in Chinese outbound tourism， inclu
6、ding Australia. In 2014， Australia became the most preferred overseas travel destination for wealthy Chinese. According to Jonathan ODea， Liberal Member for Davidson and Parliamentary Secretary for Major Events and Tourism， the number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia grew by 17.8% last year， w
7、ith growing economies and increasing mutual understanding and exchange between peoples. Among international tourists to Australia， the Chinese were the second largest tourist group in 2014， contributing 5.7 billion AUS dollars to Australias economy. Opportunities after SinoAustralia FTA On June 17，
8、the Chinese governments and Australian government signed a long-awaited free trade agreement （FTA） 3in a ceremony in Canberra， freeing up trade between the two countries. Its no doubt that the recently-signed Sino-Australia FTA will bring in more opportunities for both countries in many areas， inclu
9、ding finance services， agribusiness， legal services and tourism industry， Mr. ODea said in an interview with CBF. “Trade between New South Wales and China is now worth more than 30 billion dollars a year， ” Mr. ODea said. “We desire to expand both tourism and trade with China.” Australia is encourag
10、ing more Chinese to choose it as their overseas travel destination and more Chinese agencies to organize tours to Australia， added Mr. ODea. As part of the Sino-Australia FTA， Australia will be the fourth country to issue 10-year-validity visitor visa to Chinese citizens by the end of 2016， after Ca
11、nada， the United States and Singapore. It is worth to note that China is the first country to which Australia introduces the 10-year-validity visitor visa. Besides， Australia recently unveiled a new visa policy targeting young Chinese people， allowing qualified applicants to stay in the country for
12、up to one year for the purpose of working and traveling. 4The short-term work and holiday visa program， which is set to commence in September 2015， will open up to 5，000 visa places for young Chinese citizens aged between 18 and 30 per year， providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ex
13、perience Australia through an extended holiday. Those new visa policies will further simplify the visa application procedure for Chinese citizen， promoting more exchanges between peoples from both sides. In addition to giving more visa options to encourage people from China to come to Australia， the
14、 country also steps up efforts to strength cooperation with Chinese companies and tour operators to further attract Chinese tourists. By far， Tourism Australia has established a partnership with Alibaba， China Eastern airlines， China Southern Airlines and China International Airlines. Currently， Tou
15、rism Australia is organizing promotional activities in Chinese major cities， including Shanghai and Beijing. It cooperates with more than 5，000 Chinese tour operators in tourism projects. In promoting tourism， social media is increasingly involved.“WeChat and other social media tools are not only ga
16、ining growing popularity with Chinese but also Australian communities， ”Mr. ODea added. 5Besides， Australia also welcomes more some successful Chinese business men to invest in tourism. “Investment from whatever sources within the guidelines is very welcome in Australia. Safety Concern Cost， safety，
17、 culture， vacation length and visa availability are generally considered as the top five factors that influence destination choice， with safety now seen as a growing concern. Chinese outbound tourists always put safety as a top concern and the recent incidents， such as flight crashes， kidnapping， an
18、d robbery， increase their worries. “The perception of a safe destination is of paramount importance to all visitors ?C not just Chinese. The world is more wired than ever before and bad news travels fast， ” said Adam Wu， chief operating officer of China Business Network， a tourism promoting firm. Fo
19、r Chinese outbound tourists， Australia is considered as one of the safest places to visit with wonderful climate and pollution-free and safe， beautiful environment， as well as welcoming people. “Australia is well recognized international country. We 6have a very stable political environment and peop
20、le here move around freely in a very safe and secure environment. The safety and security is very strong and po- lice force could be seen all over， enable people to not only travel safely during the day but also in the evenings.” said Mr. ODea.“There is a very strong sense of safety and ability to m
21、ove around freely without concern. ” The Chinese government also attaches a great importance to the development of tourism industry， encouraging more foreigners to visit the country. According to Mr. ODea，there is a strong desire for interaction between peoples. Australians also show a growing inter
22、est to visit China， especially modern cities like Shanghai.“More and more Australian want to visit China， not just for business， but for pleasure， ” said Mr. ODea， who is very upbeat on the development of tourism industry in the two countries. “Two-way flow of tourism will continue to grow strongly
23、because there is fundamentally a good potential for exchanging experiences and there is a strong desire to have more interactions between two countries， ” said Mr. ODea. “We share many common values， we share the com- mon time zone， we 7also share the common desire to understand one each we have much in common.”
