The Australian Government has pledged practical and monetary support to boost its tourism industry’s understanding of the much-courted Chinese traveller.

At the opening of the inaugural Australia – China Tourism Summit in Cairns, Australia’s Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson announced a strategic tourism investment grant, ‘Lifting Quality in the China Tourism Market’.

According to Mr Ferguson, the AUD1 million grant funding will put “an emphasis on quality” as it aims to boost industry awareness of the needs of the Chinese market “including through tour guides, accreditation and the use of technology for independent travellers”.

“Over the coming months, the scope of this project will be developed with input from stakeholders, including industry,” Mr Ferguson said.

The Australian Government has also committed a further AUD4 million to the Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme “to stay ahead of the game”.

The highly regulated Chinese travel distribution system sees most outbound travel go through the ADS scheme, meaning, for the most part, Chinese visitors book through government agencies and licenced operators and travel in groups.

Given that over 140 countries now have ADS, “Australia cannot rest on its laurels when it comes to welcoming visitors from China”, Mr Ferguson said.

China is Australia’s most valuable inbound tourism market, worth AUD3 billion to Australia per annum, and forecast to bring AUD6 billion into the country within the next decade.