The budding ‘love-affair’ between Australia and China took to the waters of Sydney Harbour this week, as tourism authorities from the two countries met on Sydney Showboat for the 2011 China Tourism Night.
The event, organised by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and attended by some 300 industry representatives, was a reflection of the close ties the countries have forged in recent years, with Australia now the 2nd largest source market of long-haul visitors to China, and China the largest source of visitors into Australia.
Following on from the inaugural China – Australia Tourism Summit held a fortnight ago in Cairns, the event underlined the commitment the two nations have in continuing their close bilateral tourism ties.
“China and Australia are inextricably linked through our strong economic ties,” tourism projects manager for the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism Grant Keys said.
After welcoming guests in fluent Mandarin, Mr Keys went on to praise the remarkable diversity of a country he had spent four years in.
Preceding the major prize draws, which included generous flight and accommodation packages to China, were brief presentations by Beijing and Hainan tourism, as well as performances by a traditional Chinese musical ensemble.
Expect this affair to last.
