Sydney and Melbourne residents could be saying "ni hao" to twice as many Chinese tourists by 2023 than they do today as rising incomes in China make international travel more affordable.

 

A new global study by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in partnership with Oxford Economics found the number of Chinese households earning more than $US35,000 ($45,970) - considered a threshold for being able to afford overseas travel - will nearly triple to 63 million by 2023.

 

That is expected to lead to a 109 per cent rise in the number of Chinese arrivals into Melbourne and a 98 per cent rise in arrivals to Sydney. Brisbane and the Gold Coast will also benefit from rises of 90 per cent and 86 per cent respectively.

 

"As Chinese tourism demand matures, we expect preferences to shift toward more expensive, longer-haul experiences," the study said. 

 

Australia was the ninth largest outbound spending market for Chinese visitors in 2013, and most travellers to Australia visit for holidays rather than business and tend to prefer cities over rural areas.

 

Tourism Australia has been working hard to attract Chinese visitors - in particularly, ones that travel independently rather than in groups because independent travellers spend more. China is already Australia's second biggest source of inbound visitors, behind New Zealand, and its most valuable with annual spending of $5 billion a year, which is expected to reach more than $13 billion by the end of the decade.

 

Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan said with so many other countries competing fiercely for the Chinese market, Australia couldn't afford to take its success to date for granted. "This means understanding what Chinese travellers are looking for in an overseas holiday, and, where needed, adapting and developing our tourism experiences to better fit their needs and expectations," he said.

 

Karin Sheppard, IHG's chief operating officer Australasia, said nearly half of her group's hotels in Australia were China Ready accredited and that number would rise alongside the expected growth in the number of Chinese guests.

 

IHG's 11 China Ready hotel properties, which include the InterContinental Sydney, Crowne Plaza Melbourne and Holiday Inn Potts Point Sydney, feature Mandarin-speaking staff, trained Chinese chefs, UnionPay payment facilities and Mandarin television channels in the rooms.