Analyst forecasts future of Chinese tourism in Australia

AccomNews Wednesday, December 14, 2016

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Following the recent announcement on a new airport at Badgerys Creek, industry analyst Nick Tarrant from IBISWorld has researched the state of Chinese tourism in the Australian sector with forecasts over the next decade.

These research findings and forecasts, according to Mr Tarrant, include:

– Chinese tourists are expected to overtake New Zealand tourists as the number one inbound market in 2016-17 for the first time

– Chinese tourists are also set to eclipse the combined total of US and UK international arrival numbers

– Research suggests that 290,000 Chinese visitors came to Australian shores a decade ago. That figure is expected to increase to 1.3 million this year and, in another decade, that number will likely surpass 3 million

– Growth in Chinese tourism over the next five years is expected to contribute to an additional 2.4 million inbound international arrivals in 2021-22 compared with 2016-17

– The proposed construction of an airport at Badgerys Creek is a positive step forward in developing Australian tourism capacity, but more should be done for Australia to meet tourism demand over the next five years

– Sydney’s long-awaited second airport is unlikely to be operational until the mid-2020s, at which point Sydney may be facing as many as 1 million new arrivals per annum

– Major Australian airports are already facing capacity constraints and existing infrastructure must expand to absorb new demand. Most inbound arrivals come through Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airports

– Queensland has already approved expansion of Brisbane Airport and a new airport to be constructed on the Sunshine Coast, helping the state to absorb more visitors over the next decade

– Australia requires increased infrastructure investment to ensure the country fully capitalises on a tourism wave that could rival the mining boom of the past decade.