As Europe grapples with Greece and the U.S. struggles to create jobs, Australia's economy is soaring, driving the Australian dollar to historic heights against the U.S. dollar — something unthinkable a decade ago when Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympics. But a strong Australian dollar has not been good for tourism. In the past 10 years, tourism revenue has shrunk from 3.4% of Australia's GDP to 2.6%. The number of people flocking to Australian shores has also dropped steadily since the Olympics; according to the most recent statistics available, international arrivals were down 2.5% in July 2011from July 2010. Tourism officials realize they have a problem. In an effort to promote the country last year, a number of government and tourism bodies spent nearly $5 million to bring Oprah Down Under to tape her show. It didn't exactly work. Evidently, even Oprah's magic touch has its limits.
But there's another possible solution a little closer to home: China. The statistics speak for themselves. The Chinese are the fastest-growing tourism group in the world, with approximately 57.4 million people traveling overseas last year. Chinese tourists are now Australia's third largest market for inbound visitors, but most importantly, its fastest growing one. Within the last year, the number of visitors from the mainland has surged by 23%, contributing $3.26 billion to the economy. Australia's main tourism board, Tourism Australia, estimates that in a decade, Chinese tourists could triple their spending, pumping up to $9 billion per year into the economy. Full story...
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But there's another possible solution a little closer to home: China. The statistics speak for themselves. The Chinese are the fastest-growing tourism group in the world, with approximately 57.4 million people traveling overseas last year. Chinese tourists are now Australia's third largest market for inbound visitors, but most importantly, its fastest growing one. Within the last year, the number of visitors from the mainland has surged by 23%, contributing $3.26 billion to the economy. Australia's main tourism board, Tourism Australia, estimates that in a decade, Chinese tourists could triple their spending, pumping up to $9 billion per year into the economy. Full story...
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