WA pulls out 'big guns'in battle for Chinese visitor

The Australian boom- state of Western Australia (WA) has fired the first shots in Australia's escalating publicity blitz to attract the critical Chinese tourism market.

Western Australia has been stealing headlines as Australia's renegade economic miracle but it is also the country's largest state and boasts an extraordinary array of secrets for the Chinese tourist to discover.

According to the department of Western Australian tourism, almost 20 new itineraries designed specifically for Chinese visitors has been rolled out as part of a co-operative marketing campaign between Tourism Western Australia, China Southern Airlines and Tourism Australia.

WA's Tourism Minister Kim Hames told Xinhua the itineraries were part of a broader 4 million Australian dollar partnership between the three organizations and aimed at introducing the " delights of WA to more and more Chinese friends." "China is a very important tourism market to WA, with Chinese visitation growing 43.3 percent to 27,800 visitors for the year ending June 2012," Dr Hames said.

WA already attracts 24,000 Chinese tourists a year, but with word of mouth and dedicated planning, that number is looking to quadruple by 2020.

In the past, airline access was a serious barrier to growth for Western Austrlia with no non-stop air services operating between the State and Chinese mainland.

But with tightening business and person-to-person relations all that changed on Nov. 8, last year when China Southern Airlines commenced direct flights between Perth and Beijing (via Guangzhou), three times per week. There is also a daily service between Perth and Hong Kong.

With China Southern now committing to WA, there is a sense that China's adventurous middle class is on the cusp of discovering WA' s hidden marvels -- from fine dining in Perth, world-class wineries and breweries and the epic grandeur of the outback.

Dr Hames has made it plain that he wants to increase WA's share of Chinese who come to Australia -- currently it is only 4.5 percent.

According to the International overnight visitor results from Tourism Research Australia's latest International Visitor Survey, released in June, the number of business visitors to WA in the year ending March 2011 rose by 23.3 percent, with holiday visits up by 2.3 percent and visits for the purpose of education increasing 2.5 percent.

Business visitors currently make up 16.4 percent of all international visitors -- hardly surprising considering WA's extraordinary economic magnetism, particularly for China.

The WA economy can rightly claim to be the world's leading mining economy.Significant shares of world production include 21 percent of iron ore, 14 percent of alumina, 13 percent of nickel, 7 percent of liquefied natural gas and 6 percent of gold.

The portfolio continues to grow with the support of Chinese investment, with new projects in lithium, vanadium, rare earths and uranium. WA has over 500 commercial mining and petroleum projects, with a combined production value of 107 billion Australian dollars last year. That economic power has been filtering through to international tourism markets, with WA's extraordinary beauty beginning to be the subject of airport banter and luxury magazines. Dr Hames said, "Five leading agencies from key Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen; and one national partner, were selected to develop the itineraries.. These tailored consumer packages will feature extraordinary tourism experiences and products across WA to suit independent as well as group travelers. Some of these experiences include self-drive tours, golfing and wine tasting." "The strategy will play a key role in increasing WA's market share with a focus on consumer marketing, trade, aviation and industry development," the minister said. "The strategy will be implemented by Tourism WA in collaboration with key stakeholders during the next three years to help reach our goal for 2020." Speaking in Sydney in September, State Premier Colin Barnett echoed the sentiments of many West Australians who claim that it is WA that has pulled Australia into the Asian century through its powerful China-ties. "Like it or not, 40 years on, the economic relationship between China and Australia is very much between China and Western Australia. The size of the Chinese Consulate in Perth is confirmation.. There were 80 Chinese delegations through Perth last year." He said.

Dr Hames told Xinhua that when it comes to welcoming Chinese visitors, nowhere in the western world was as well equipped and culturally prepared as WA.

From partners in business, WA and China have quickly become partners in friendship. "Around the dinner table my Chinese mates often tell me: 'you yi di yi'-- 'friendship first' and this advice has been absorbed in WA. "Hames said. China is Australia's most valuable inbound tourism market. In 2010 the China inbound market contributed 3.26 billion Australian dollars to the national economy. According to estimates, by 2020, this market has the potential to contribute 7 to 9 billion Australian dollars annually.