❓ The Minister for Tourism reports a significant increase in Chinese visitors to WA, driven by direct flights from Guangzhou and joint marketing campaigns, leading to substantial economic benefits and future growth prospects.
AnsweredQoN 506Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TOURISM — CHINESE VISITORS
506. Ms A.R. MITCHELL to the Minister for Tourism:
I understand that Western Australia
has performed extraordinarily well in the last 12 months in attracting Chinese
visitors to this state. Would the minister please update the house on this and
any initiatives that have driven this great performance?
506. Ms A.R. MITCHELL to the Minister for Tourism:
I understand that Western Australia
has performed extraordinarily well in the last 12 months in attracting Chinese
visitors to this state. Would the minister please update the house on this and
any initiatives that have driven this great performance?
AnswerView source ↗
I am very pleased with the number of tourists we now see coming from
China. There has been an extremely encouraging increase since we were able to
negotiate the direct flights from Guangzhou, China, by China Southern Airlines.
I want to put on record my great appreciation to the Chinese Consul, Madam Wang
Yiner, for her great efforts in assisting to do that. We were getting about 18 000
tourists a year coming to Western Australia, which is only about three per cent
of the total number of visitors coming to WA. Back in 2009, we were getting
about 12 000 a year. By 2010, that number had grown to 18 000. However, in the
past 12 months or so since we have had those direct flights, the number has
gone up to 28 000. We have had not only a big increase in the number of Chinese
visitors coming here, but also a big increase in the spend by Chinese tourists;
there has been a 60 per cent increase in spend by Chinese tourists, which is
quite simply amazing. An amount of $154 million has been spent in this state by
Chinese tourists. I think that shows that the hard work we did in making sure
we established that connection is starting to pay off. We have a long way to
go; we have a goal of reaching 100 000 tourists by 2020, and at the rate we are
going, I think we can feel pretty confident about that.
Part of the deal with China Southern Airlines was for us to do a joint
marketing campaign between the state, Perth Airport, Tourism Australia and
China Southern. That amounted to about $3 million in total. We have now
increased that amount for the next year to $4 million, with Tourism Australia
putting in $1 million, Western Australia putting in $1 million and China
Southern putting in $2 million. It is a great outcome for cooperative
investment. Our load factors in both directions are going up. I have to say
that they are better for Chinese tourists coming into Western Australia than
they are for people going out. I think that perhaps China Southern has to do a
bit of work on its marketing here in Perth to grow its numbers. However, on
both sides the numbers are growing. It is good that we have been able to attract
those visitors.
Some of the things we have done with the Chinese government and with
organisations within China are to be involved in specific events. The YouYi
Games were a fantastic success, with the Australian Boomers playing against the
Chinese team. In the upcoming BP classic swimming event, the Chinese swimming
team as well as the Australian swimming team will be participating. We are
working on other events in which we hope the Chinese community will
participate, particularly the golf event and the Margaret River gourmet
festival. We understand that the Chinese will specifically send people to
attend that festival who are food and wine tourism critics to make sure that
they see what Western Australia has to offer in food and wine. It is a fantastic
outcome and we are very proud of what we have been able to do.
China. There has been an extremely encouraging increase since we were able to
negotiate the direct flights from Guangzhou, China, by China Southern Airlines.
I want to put on record my great appreciation to the Chinese Consul, Madam Wang
Yiner, for her great efforts in assisting to do that. We were getting about 18 000
tourists a year coming to Western Australia, which is only about three per cent
of the total number of visitors coming to WA. Back in 2009, we were getting
about 12 000 a year. By 2010, that number had grown to 18 000. However, in the
past 12 months or so since we have had those direct flights, the number has
gone up to 28 000. We have had not only a big increase in the number of Chinese
visitors coming here, but also a big increase in the spend by Chinese tourists;
there has been a 60 per cent increase in spend by Chinese tourists, which is
quite simply amazing. An amount of $154 million has been spent in this state by
Chinese tourists. I think that shows that the hard work we did in making sure
we established that connection is starting to pay off. We have a long way to
go; we have a goal of reaching 100 000 tourists by 2020, and at the rate we are
going, I think we can feel pretty confident about that.
Part of the deal with China Southern Airlines was for us to do a joint
marketing campaign between the state, Perth Airport, Tourism Australia and
China Southern. That amounted to about $3 million in total. We have now
increased that amount for the next year to $4 million, with Tourism Australia
putting in $1 million, Western Australia putting in $1 million and China
Southern putting in $2 million. It is a great outcome for cooperative
investment. Our load factors in both directions are going up. I have to say
that they are better for Chinese tourists coming into Western Australia than
they are for people going out. I think that perhaps China Southern has to do a
bit of work on its marketing here in Perth to grow its numbers. However, on
both sides the numbers are growing. It is good that we have been able to attract
those visitors.
Some of the things we have done with the Chinese government and with
organisations within China are to be involved in specific events. The YouYi
Games were a fantastic success, with the Australian Boomers playing against the
Chinese team. In the upcoming BP classic swimming event, the Chinese swimming
team as well as the Australian swimming team will be participating. We are
working on other events in which we hope the Chinese community will
participate, particularly the golf event and the Margaret River gourmet
festival. We understand that the Chinese will specifically send people to
attend that festival who are food and wine tourism critics to make sure that
they see what Western Australia has to offer in food and wine. It is a fantastic
outcome and we are very proud of what we have been able to do.
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