Australia to Renew Focus on Indian and Chinese Middle Class Tourists

Australia is set to renew its focus on wooing the cash rich middle class population of India and China at the Australian Tourism Directions conference in Canberra. According to a PTI report, the conference, to be held from tomorrow, will also analyse the progress of plans to double overnight visitor spending to USD 140 billion by 2020.

“Now more than ever we need to remain focused on the big picture improvements that can enhance the long-term competitiveness of the sector,” said Martin Ferguson, Federal Tourism Minister, Government of Australia. He added that the conference will renew the industry's focus on Asia and the rise of China as Australia's most valuable tourism market.

“It will also examine the need for more and better hotel accommodation, for higher investment in destinations and for increasing aviation capacity,” Ferguson said. Andrew McEvoy, Head, Tourism Australia will discuss the challenges of ensuring that Australia creates a long lasting appeal to global travellers.

A new report released by Tourism Research Australia has revealed that tourism's total contribution to the Australian economy in 2009/10 was USD 71.7 billion, or around 5.6 per cent of GDP.

Miss Tourism Australia 2011 NSW Preliminary at Roselands Shopping Centre

The Miss Tourism Australia 2011 NSW Preliminary at Roselands Shopping Centre.

Metro Hotels staff were in attendance, Mr Ricky Risal (Aspire Hotel Sydney Manager) who was one of four judges for this event and Mr Richard Amour (Business Development Manager).
Behind the Miss Tourism pageant are the producers of Miss Universe Australia, who use this competition to promote tourism and cultural exchange and find the Australian finalist to be entered into the international Miss Tourism pageant.

Judges for the competition include industry experts Carmel Pizzino of Dancing with the Stars fame; Peter Sereno the pageant expert who aided Jennifer Hawkins to her 2004 win; Sylvia Lee of Sylvia Lee Couture, designer and creators of this year’s Miss Universe Australia evening gown; and international model booker Rick O’Brien.

Contestants will be scored on three sections: Sportswear, Eveningwear and a Personality question and answer session. Fashion items will be provided by Centro Roselands retailers including Portmans, Sportsgirl, Myer, Target and Gigi’s Shoes.

Centro Roselands Marketing Manager, Marina Majeran encourages girls to come down and be a part of the competition. “It is such a great opportunity for our local customers to join in the major pageant; who knows, they could even take the title and become Australia’s newest worldwide tourist ambassador”.

Sydney on Show to Warm Winter Months

Tourism NSW has put together a new campaign highlighting Sydney’s food, wine, fashion and culture to attract more visitors to the city during the cooler months.

Tourism NSW executive director Lyndel Gray said the campaigns goal is to place Sydney as the leading destination for short stays and holidays during the winter months.

“Sydney welcomes almost 10 million overnight visitors each year who inject AUD10billion into the NSW economy, we need to keep Sydney high on the list as a destination of choice for Australians all year round,” Ms Gray said.

Ms Gray said the campaign will be displaying the city’s unique food and wine, world class fashion and shopping, arts and cultural experiences with a string of television commercials featuring well know celebrities which include Masterchef’s Matt Moran and Neil Perry.

Along with commercials there will be a series of print and digital advertising to promote travel to Sydney to key markets including Melbourne, South East Queensland, Regional NSW and the ACT.

“We want Sydneysiders to become advocates for their own city and to help increase awareness of Sydney’s amazing variety of tourism precincts,”

“There are also some special deals, including two for one across dozens of attractions and restaurants and some great value for money accommodation offers and packages,” Ms Gray said.

Ms Gray said although Sydney’s great diversity keeps arrival numbers strong it is important we inform people what they can expect from this amazing city during this winter.

Chinese Taste for Luxury Keeps Tourism Out of Red

THE new face of Australian tourism is from Beijing not Birmingham and prefers designer handbags to well-worn rucksacks.

As the numbers of sunburnt British backpackers arriving on shoestring budgets begins to wane, cashed-up Chinese tourists with long shopping lists are emerging as the most important players for inbound tourism.

In the three months to March, 188,600 visitors came here from Britain, a fall of 11.7 per cent compared with the same period last year. Visitors from China rose by 23.2 per cent, by far the largest increase, with 179,500 arriving during the same three months.

The influx was partly driven by Chinese New Year. Last year the value of the Chinese market exceeded $3 billion for the first time, according to Tourism Australia. On average, Chinese visitors spend $6803. Visitors aged 15 to 29 stay an average of 112 nights and spend twice as long and twice as much as British tourists of the same age.

The traditional attractions - beaches, wildlife and open spaces - are a drawcard for Chinese travellers but so is shopping, which explains the popularity of Melbourne and Sydney.

Chinese tourists are drawn to upmarket shops such as J. Farren-Price in Sydney, which sells diamonds, Rolex watches and Kailis pearls.

''In the last two years there has been a significant increase in Chinese tourists, who have an appetite for fine, globally recognised brands,'' the director, Julian Farren-Price, said. ''We are very good value for them because they have high taxes on their luxury goods.''

Vivienne Zhang, 27, agrees it is cheaper for Chinese people to buy high-end products in Australia. ''Shopping is a very important activity on their travel agenda,'' said Ms Zhang, who came to Australia from Fujian in China on a student visa seven years ago and now has permanent residency. ''A $200 designer bag bought here could cost twice as much in China,'' she said.

The Mulberry handbag shop in central Sydney is another favourite destination.

''We get many Chinese tourists, usually buying a bag for themselves before they return home,'' said a sales assistant, Georgia Milone. ''Most popular at the moment is our Alexa Chung, which is $1810.''

Less than 10 per cent of the Chinese population can be considered wealthy but with a population of more than 1.3 billion, that still left 130 million people with enough cash to travel and shop, said Sam Huang, a senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of South Australia.

''They want to return home from overseas trips with luxury goods as a symbol of their wealth,'' he said.

Mr Huang estimates that by 2020 the number of Chinese visitors could exceed those from Britain and New Zealand.

The executive president of Tourism Australia, Andrew McEvoy, said the boom in Chinese tourism had been carefully cultivated.

''Everyone says this increase in tourism is just happening now, but we have been investing since the mid-to-late '90s, and in 1999 Australia was the first Western country to be granted approved destination status by the Chinese government. We've been building on our relationship with China since then.''

Last July the government said it would spend $30 million over three years to attract Chinese visitors.

Next week the Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson, will launch the 2020 China Strategic Plan at the China-Australia Tourism Summit in Cairns.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/chinese-taste-for-luxury-keeps-tourism-out-of-red-20110529-1fb0o.html#ixzz1NoPwXV1r

Aussies stayed in Australian hotels 3% longer on average this year

Aussies are staying longer in Australian hotels than last year, with hotel bookings 3 percent longer on average than last year, and Australians spending 5 percent more on their daily hotel rates.

Domestic tourism continues to struggle in the face of the high Australian dollar making overseas travel relatively less expensive than the same time last year, however in a survey by hotel group Best Western, the effects of the global financial crisis may well be over in the Australian accommodation sector. Australian hotels and motels in the past six months have seen corporate clients and families returning in the past six months, suggesting that more mobile young holiday goers are taking advantage of the high Australian dollar and opting not to travel domestically.

Kimi Anderson, General Manager of Sales and Marketing for Best Western Australasia said families are key to domestic tourism income in Australia.

“Corporate clients and families are still finding travel achievable and affordable, which is a great sign for the industry. It’s also heartening to see that holidays are being extended for families, and people are feeling more relaxed about taking time away from work to explore the beauty of Australia”.

Online bookings for Best Western spiked by 65 percent in the last month alone, demonstrating the shift towards purchasing travel online

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