The Australian government announced 11 million Australian dollars (USD 7.92 million) in additional funding to lure Chinese tourism groups to the country.
Simon Birmingham, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, unveiled the boost for the Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) on Tuesday, saying it accounted for one quarter of the annual Chinese visitors to Australia.
According to Tourism Australia, 1.42 million people visited Australia from China in the 12 months to September 2018, spending AUD 11.5 billion (USD 8.28 billion).
Birmingham said those who came via the ADS spent an average of AUD 865 (USD 623) per night in Australia, promising that the additional investment would "pay for itself many times over."
"In addition to the ADS, our government continues to improve the competitiveness of our visa system for Chinese visitors with the trialling of 10-year multiple entry visitor visas and online visa lodgements," said David Coleman, the Minister for Immigration.
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