China no magic elixir
China won’t provide the magic elixir for the Sunshine Coast tourism industry, according to Gary Mackenzie who owns the Gold and Sunshine Coast based Dreamtime Resorts.
He was concerned about the state government’s $50 million planned spend to lure the Chinese market to Queensland. He said while the Chinese market could be lucrative, it shouldn’t be the sole focus of the tourism strategy.
Anne Fredericks who runs King’s Beach Rolling Surf Resort, agreed.
She said the Sunshine Coast’s “bread-and-butter” was the drive industry – tourists visiting from places nearby like Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba.
Mr McKenzie said many of the smaller Sunshine Coast tourism operators wouldn’t even see the Chinese tourists.
“The heart of tourism industry is and always will be the serviced apartment, motel and camping ground operators – the people who cater to mum, dad and the kids who have always been our bread and butter business,” he said.
Their concerns about the China focus comes just days after representatives from the region’s peak tourism body, Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd, returned from its first trip to China.
CEO Steve Cooper said: “We hope to leverage off the niche opportunities around golf and our natural attributes.”
The Chinese market is a “massive opportunity” for Australian tourism, according to Tourism Transport Forum head John Lee after arrivals from the region shot up by 27.4% in January 2012 compared to the same month last year.
Australian Bureau of Statistic research found that for the entire month international arrivals shot up by 4.8% during the first month of this year, a figure driven by visitors from Asia visiting during the Chinese New Year.
Hong Kong arrivals also saw a steady growth of 22%, Taiwan increased by 19% while Indonesian visitors shot up by 13.7%.
Mr Lee said while Australia has enjoyed an 11% increase in Chinese visitation per annum since 2001, the challenge is now arising to keep them coming after competing destinations commence advertising to attract the growing market.
“It is critical we continue to build on that momentum and capitalise on the competitive advantage of our proximity to Asia,” Mr Lee said.
“However, China’s potential is also recognised by our competitors, who are making substantial investments to attract Chinese tourists.”
He explained that annual figures demonstrated that the US had experienced a 36.2% increase in arrivals while the UK and Canada also saw increases of 32% and 24.4% over 2011 compared to 2010.
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