Australia set to welcome back Chinese group tours

Today Australia has been reincluded on China’s list of approved outgoing group travel destinations.

Australia’s return to China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme, for the first time since borders re-opened, is welcome news for our nation’s tourism operators, and will provide a boost for the visitor economy, further supporting the sector’s ongoing recovery.

This is another positive step towards the stabilisation of our relationship with China.

Prior to the pandemic, China was the largest and most valuable inbound traveller market for the Australian visitor economy.

In 2019, more than 1.4 million holiday makers from China spent $2.1 billion in Australia, including about $581 million spent by ADS group travel participants.

Australia remains a premium tourism destination for Chinese travellers, and we are looking forward to welcoming back group tours.

Today’s announcement follows the recent launch in China of Tourism Australia’s successful $125 million Come and Say G’Day campaign.

The campaign kicked off on 29 June in China, and is already proving to be a success, with the television commercial receiving over 66 million views across all channels.

We know millions of prospective Chinese visitors are being inspired to Come and Say G’day and we look forward to welcoming more of them to Australia as the ADS resumes.

The Australian Government will now work with Chinese counterparts to facilitate ADS travel.