China has announced Australia would be re-added to the nation’s approved list of outgoing group travel destinations, just five days after barley tariffs were lifted.
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China has announced Australia would be re-added to the nation’s approved list of outgoing group travel destinations, just five days after barley tariffs were lifted.
China reinstated Australia with Approved Destination Status on Thursday for the first time since the pandemic.
Accommodation Australia chief executive Michael Johnson said the return of travellers from China would revive a valuable part of the pre-COVID tourist market for hotel operators.
“In 2020, Australia’s hotel industry was forced to adapt to the loss of large numbers of visitors from China and they pivoted very well, but this announcement will see the return of this key market and in many ways, signals the end of the worst of the pandemic,” Mr Johnson said.
“Australia having Approved Destination Status reinstated is also timely, as it coincides with significant marketing activity that Tourism Australia has been undertaking in China, putting us on a strong footing to hit the ground running.”
Tourism Australia launched a campaign in China on June 29, bolstered by $125 million investment by the federal government.
Since its launch, the Come and Say G’Day campaign has attracted more than 66 million views.
Mr Johnson said Accommodation Australia would expect to see a wave of new bookings and increased business activity in the weeks ahead.
“At a time when aviation routes are continuing to recover and people are feeling safe to travel further abroad, this is the shot in the arm that Australia’s accommodation industry needed,” Mr Johnson said.
Tourism Minister Don Farrell said China reinstating Australia with Approved Destination Status was welcome news for the country’s tourism operators, boosting visitor economy and supporting the industry’s recovery.
“This is another positive step towards the stabilisation of our relationship with China,” Mr Farrell said.
“Prior to the pandemic, China was the largest and most valuable inbound traveller market for the Australian visitor economy.”
In 2019, more than 250,000 visitors from China travelled to Australia spending a total $581 million.
China has additionally reinstated other key markets with Approved Destination Status, including the United States, Japan and South Korea.
This announcement comes five days after China lifted its 80.5 per cent anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Australian barley on August 5.
In 2020, China imposed the duty on Australian barley for five years after an anti-dumping and countervail investigation was conducted by China into Australian barley exported to China between October 1 2017 and September 20 2018.
The 18-month investigation closed in 2020 with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce concluding that both dumping and subsidisation had occurred, resulting in the introduction of the tariffs.
The tarriffs were lifted on August 5 and Australia's two largest barley producers CBH and Emerald Grain were reinstated to China's approved list of exporters on Wednesday August 8.
