The Australian government has announced it would grant Chinese travelers three year multiple- entry visas in an acknowledgment of how important Chinese tourists are to the local tourism market.

 

Business travelers have enjoyed such visas for the past 14 months, but Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb announced the new system for Chinese tourists on Friday night.

 

Speaking at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards function in Adelaide, Robb said it was imperative to make it easier for Chinese people to travel to Australia.

 

Previously, Chinese tourists could only get a one year multiple entry visa.

 

But with 47 percent of Chinese tourists being repeat visitors to the country, it was imperative to streamline the process. "Chinese tourists are increasingly more discerning and looking for an authentic Australian experience,"he said. "Repeat visitors are an increasingly important market sector as they tend to stay for longer periods and are higher yielding in terms of their spending."

Research also showed repeat Chinese visitors were more likely to explore regional areas, and benefit local communities. "Ongoing visa reform and deregulation was part of a broader effort to ensure our tourism and hospitality sector remains competitive in an increasingly crowded global tourism market," Robb said.

 

Around 100 million Chinese left China for an overseas holiday last year, a figure predicted to reach 200 million by 2020.

 

Nearly 790,000 Chinese travelers visited Australia in the year to September 2014, spending close to 5.4 billion Australian dollars (4.15 billion U.S. dollars).

 

In the year to September 2014, repeat visitors accounted for around 3.3 billion Australian dollars (2.54 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, or 60 percent of total Chinese expenditure -- showing they did spend more than first time visitors.

 

The visa decision follows a recent agreement between Australia and China that will see aircraft capacity triple over the next 18 months from 22,500 seats per week from China last year, to 67,000 per week by the end of 2016. "Tourism and hospitality is one of Australia's great strengths, "Robb said. "It is our largest services export -- worth 30 billion Australian dollars (231.5 billion U.S. dollars) in export income -- and directly or indirectly employs 1 million Australians, including large numbers in regional Australia."

 

The new visa arrangement is already being trialed at a number of Chinese travel agents who have identified frequent travelers to Australia.

They then apply on-line.

 

After assessing the results of the process and refining any issues, it will be introduced across the board.