AUSTRALIA: Australian Economy Benefiting From Chinese Tourists

The boom in Chinese tourism to Australia is continuing to provide a huge boost to the Australian economy, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said on Friday.

Senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said that even as the Australian dollar strengthens, the tourist levels should continue to rise.

I think we have seen signs of the growth rate easing compared to twelve or fifteen months ago, with growth rates now at 8 to 10 percent per annum.

The pace of acceleration has certainly slowed, but the quantum in terms of the number of tourists will continue to grow," Sebastian said.

The economist said inflow of tourists have significant knock-on effects for the overall Australian economy.

It feeds a lot of different sectors, from transport to retail, to cafes and restaurants, even the support sectors around food and deliveries.

It is providing a big win, and you can see it in a couple of the key capital cities across the eastern seaboard.

But, it was not just the major capital cities in Australia that are benefiting the most economically from this tourism boom, and Sebastian identified one city in particular where tourists from China have had one of the biggest positive impacts of all.

If you look at Hobart, which is a smaller eco-system and any sort of tourism impact is felt in an even bigger fashion, because it just feeds through the economy a lot quicker.

So, I think its Chinese tourism a very big positive, and I think it is supporting a lot of the capital cities, particularly on the eastern seaboard.



Tourism Observer
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AUSTRALIA: Qantas Reveals International Transit Lounge At Perth Airport

Qantas customers are set to benefit from smoother connections and improved facilities at Perth Airport with construction to begin on a new integrated domestic and international passenger hub.

A new international wing, will be located within the existing T3/T4 area.

It will feature a large outdoor deck with alfresco seating, a streamlined immigration and customs area to enable a faster transfer experience, additional food and beverage outlets and a new Duty Free store.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said all of the airline’s domestic flights, as well as services to Singapore, Auckland and London, would operate from the new facility.

Perth will become the western hub for our international services to the United Kingdom and potentially other European destinations in the future,Joyce said.

Combining all of our operations under one roof means customers can transfer from domestic to international services without changing terminals.

The new design allows for an outdoor space and natural sunlight, which is something we know our customers will value ahead of a long haul flight.

It’s fair to say there’s been a huge amount of excitement about the launch of our non-stop services from Perth to London, and we’re delighted to be working with the State Government and Perth Airport to encourage overseas visitors to stopover in Perth.

Qantas will also construct a new International Transit Lounge that will provide a space for customers to relax and refresh between flights.

The transit lounge will offer more than a dozen shower suites, space to refresh and a wellness facility.

The outdoor patio provides fresh air and natural light, with a barbeque grill and Neil Perry designed Australian-style BBQ menu.

The International Transit Lounge has been designed for customers transiting in Perth when travelling on QF9 from Melbourne to London and QF10 from London to Melbourne.

Perth customers will also have access to the lounge.

Perth Airport chief executive Kevin Brown welcomed the announcement of the new passenger facilities.

There’s already been so much hard work done by the Perth Airport and Qantas teams on this project and it’s incredibly exciting that we can now see the vision taking shape for what will be a world class transit lounge, he said.

The International Transit Lounge has been designed as a collaboration between leading firm SUMU Design and award-winning Australian industrial designer David Caon, who is also the lead designer for the interiors of the Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Preparatory works have begun with the project to be completed by March next year, in time for the inaugural non-stop services between Perth and London.

AUSTRALIA: Australia Invites Chinese Tourists To Rural Areas

One of Australia's government tourism agencies, Destination New South Wales (NSW), launched a new campaign Monday that will see Chinese tourists brought to rural communities in parts of the state.

The move is part of a partnership with a travel agency in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Over 1.2 million Chinese tourists made their way to Australia last year, with that figure set to increase exponentially over the next decade, and this program aims to take the incoming visitors off the regular beaten track, and bring them to two of Australia's most picturesque towns, Dubbo and Mudgee.

Minister for Tourism in NSW Adam Marshall said in a statement to Xinhua that this is the first time a campaign has partnered with an overseas agency to bring tourists directly to these rural local hubs.

"The aim of this campaign is to encourage travellers to explore rural and regional areas of our state by extending their trip beyond the fringes of Sydney," Marshall said.

"This campaign is expected to initially deliver around 500 tourists to different towns across rural and regional NSW, who will inject almost 1 million Australian dollars (739,700 U.S. dollars) into those local economies."

Troy Grant, a NSW minister who is the local representative from Dubbo lauded the move, saying that the tourists from China will relish the "beautiful landscapes, delicious produce, and attractions," including the zoo, that the area has to offer.

"The positive flow-on effects of this campaign will be felt with more overnight stays and more tourist dollars ending up in the pockets of local businesspeople," Grant said.

The Year of Tourism between China and Australia 2017 is crucial from a trade, geopolitical, and tourism perspective, according to Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan, who told Xinhua earlier in the year that one of the other key benefits, is shared culture.

"This partnership is about the understanding of countries, and the understanding of cultures, and in both countries, tourism is a big business," O'Sullivan said.

Mudgee, named by the original Australian Indigenous people, translates to "nest in the hills" and is known worldwide as a top red wine producing region with many wineries to explore.

Dubbo is home to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which houses over 700 animals who are able to roam its 300 hectares of land.

As part of the campaign, China's tourists to Australia will visit the zoo in Dubbo, travel the next day for winery tours in Mudgee, and then travel back to Sydney, via the Blue Mountains region.

Meanwhile, Chinese mainland visitors to Taiwan drop over 50 pct from Jan. to April

Taiwan's visitor arrivals from the Chinese mainland continued to shrink dramatically this year, with the number of Chinese mainland visitors registered a yearly drop of 50.2 percent in the first four months, according to preliminary data from the island' s immigration department Thursday.

A total of 610,000 Chinese mainland visitors came to Taiwan from January to April this year, of which 267,000 travelled in tour groups, 61 percent less than the same period in the previous year.

Independent mainland tourist arrivals, in the meantime, fell 36.3 percent year-on-year to 343,00.

The number of mainland tourists has plummeted since Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus, took office in May last year.

In 2016, the number of Chinese mainland tourists to Taiwan slipped 14.4 percent to 3.61 million, the first drop in eight years, data from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council showed.

Wechat Pay is being rolled out across the United States to cater for the growing number of Chinese tourists in the States.

The popular mobile payment facility is teaming up with Citcon, an integrated mobile payment and marketing platform to connect global merchants with Chinese travelers, reports Silicon-based online tech media outlet PingWest.

Through their WeChat accounts, visitors will be able to pay for everything they need in RMB, and without the need for cash.

The first batch of cooperation partners includes restaurants, a hotel, a ski training camp and a luggage brand at a shopping mall.

WeChat has also signed a deal with WE Housing to provide Chinese students with apartment information to help them when they rent homes.

Wechat Pay can now be used in 15 countries and regions, for payments in 12 foreign currencies.

AUSTRALIA: Australia Invites Chinese Tourists To Rural Areas

One of Australia's government tourism agencies, Destination New South Wales (NSW), launched a new campaign Monday that will see Chinese tourists brought to rural communities in parts of the state.

The move is part of a partnership with a travel agency in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Over 1.2 million Chinese tourists made their way to Australia last year, with that figure set to increase exponentially over the next decade, and this program aims to take the incoming visitors off the regular beaten track, and bring them to two of Australia's most picturesque towns, Dubbo and Mudgee.

Minister for Tourism in NSW Adam Marshall said in a statement to Xinhua that this is the first time a campaign has partnered with an overseas agency to bring tourists directly to these rural local hubs.

"The aim of this campaign is to encourage travellers to explore rural and regional areas of our state by extending their trip beyond the fringes of Sydney," Marshall said.

"This campaign is expected to initially deliver around 500 tourists to different towns across rural and regional NSW, who will inject almost 1 million Australian dollars (739,700 U.S. dollars) into those local economies."

Troy Grant, a NSW minister who is the local representative from Dubbo lauded the move, saying that the tourists from China will relish the "beautiful landscapes, delicious produce, and attractions," including the zoo, that the area has to offer.

"The positive flow-on effects of this campaign will be felt with more overnight stays and more tourist dollars ending up in the pockets of local businesspeople," Grant said.

The Year of Tourism between China and Australia 2017 is crucial from a trade, geopolitical, and tourism perspective, according to Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan, who told Xinhua earlier in the year that one of the other key benefits, is shared culture.

"This partnership is about the understanding of countries, and the understanding of cultures, and in both countries, tourism is a big business," O'Sullivan said.

Mudgee, named by the original Australian Indigenous people, translates to "nest in the hills" and is known worldwide as a top red wine producing region with many wineries to explore.

Dubbo is home to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which houses over 700 animals who are able to roam its 300 hectares of land.

As part of the campaign, China's tourists to Australia will visit the zoo in Dubbo, travel the next day for winery tours in Mudgee, and then travel back to Sydney, via the Blue Mountains region.

Meanwhile, Chinese mainland visitors to Taiwan drop over 50 pct from Jan. to April

Taiwan's visitor arrivals from the Chinese mainland continued to shrink dramatically this year, with the number of Chinese mainland visitors registered a yearly drop of 50.2 percent in the first four months, according to preliminary data from the island' s immigration department Thursday.

A total of 610,000 Chinese mainland visitors came to Taiwan from January to April this year, of which 267,000 travelled in tour groups, 61 percent less than the same period in the previous year.

Independent mainland tourist arrivals, in the meantime, fell 36.3 percent year-on-year to 343,00.

The number of mainland tourists has plummeted since Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus, took office in May last year.

In 2016, the number of Chinese mainland tourists to Taiwan slipped 14.4 percent to 3.61 million, the first drop in eight years, data from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council showed.

Wechat Pay is being rolled out across the United States to cater for the growing number of Chinese tourists in the States.

The popular mobile payment facility is teaming up with Citcon, an integrated mobile payment and marketing platform to connect global merchants with Chinese travelers, reports Silicon-based online tech media outlet PingWest.

Through their WeChat accounts, visitors will be able to pay for everything they need in RMB, and without the need for cash.

The first batch of cooperation partners includes restaurants, a hotel, a ski training camp and a luggage brand at a shopping mall.

WeChat has also signed a deal with WE Housing to provide Chinese students with apartment information to help them when they rent homes.

Wechat Pay can now be used in 15 countries and regions, for payments in 12 foreign currencies.

MALDIVES: Trouble In Maldive Tourism

Maldives jihadists released a video warning leaders of the Maldives to adopt strict sharia law.
IT’S supposed to be a rich tourist’s perfect paradise, but increasingly, the Maldives’ credibility as a tropical dream is being overshadowed by the spectre of a terrorist nightmare.

The country famed for white sands and laid back locals is teetering on the edge of a coup with unrest and the threat of Islamic State terrorism set to see paradise turn ugly.

The Maldives is painted as a picture-prefect haven for tourists — many of them rich Western Europeans escaping the winter.

But increasing internal political turmoil and hard line radicalisation has the country at tipping point.

There is civil unrest as democratically-elected President Abdulla Yameen continues to lose support, and as more locals leave the Muslim country to fight in the Middle East with Islamic State and other militant outfits.

An estimated 200 Maldivians have done this, which would make the Maldives the largest foreign contributor of fighters on a per-capita basis. It’s a figure disputed by Yameen, who says the number is closer to 50 — despite the fact his government last week asked India for help sharing intelligence in light of an increasing threat form IS.

Whatever the numbers, terrorism experts say the figure is concerning, given the small population.

If there was to be a single terrorist attack on one of the luxury resorts, the billion dollar tourist industry would topple.

“It makes me very, very scared to see what is happening there,” Azra Naseem, who was born in the Maldives and now specialises in researching Islamist radicalism at Dublin University, said.

She said the government was afraid if the number of people leaving to become foreign fighters became public, it would harm the country’s exclusive tourism industry.

“Rich Western Europeans, towards whom most of the Maldives’ tourism is geared, would not want to book expensive holidays in a country known for the production of jihad,” she said.

“If the tourism industry is damaged, the minuscule percentage of rich Maldivians who control it would suffer, and many of them bankroll the government. So the current regimen downplays the number of jihadists, pretends it is a problem that does not exist and labels anyone who speaks about it a traitor.”

She said, the Maldives, which adopted Islam when Arab traders came to the islands in the 12th century, had never really distinguished between the Shia and Sunni sects of Isla, blending island traditions and Islam.

“And now the only Islam that is being accepted is Saudi Salafism,” she says.

Almost half the Maldivian population of 300,000 lives on the island capital of Male.

Unemployment and drug use is high. Few Maldivians work in the resorts, which are on islands uninhabited by locals. They tend to be managed by Europeans and Australians and staffed mainly by tens of thousands of poorly-paid Bangladeshis.

While the government has been diligent in cracking down on political opponents, it has done little to halt the flow of Maldivians heading off to fight for Islamic State.

There have been whole families who have gone over,” says Naseem. “There has been a Maldivian baby born in Syria.”

When Islamic State first emerged, the stories of people going off to fight would be reported in local newspapers as their families proudly talked of their bravery.

Naseem says the government seems to have cracked down on the publication of such reports, but “it doesn’t mean that people aren’t still going”.

Terrorism experts say the problem is what happens if some of these Maldivian jihadists, trained and radicalised on the battlefields of Syria, come home.

Maldivian jihadists recently posted a video on a website with the pictures of the three most recent Maldivian presidents — including Yameen — depicting the presidents being shot.

The video said it was a warning for the leadership of the Maldives to adopt strict sharia law.

It’s a stark contract to the idyllic weather, beaches and tropical fish showcased as the ultimate Maldives holiday.

Experts say the country’s 100-plus luxury resorts are ‘soft’ terrorism targets.

Meanwhile Yameen is trying to pacify Islamic interests, safeguard his leadership, and protect than economy where 70 per cent of the economy is directly reliant on tourism.

The result is building opposition towards him, and the growing threat of a coup.

The Maldives became a democracy in 2008 when Mohamed Nasheed became its first freely-elected leader, ending three decades of autocratic rule under Mr Yameen’s half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Since Yameen came to power in 2013, he has enacted a series of increasingly draconian laws.

Under his rule, hundreds of political activists have faced charges and several senior figures have been given long jail sentences including Mr Nasheed, who was painted as anti-Islamic, and now lives in self-imposed exile in the UK.

Last weekend, reports emerged that a group of exiled opposition leaders — including Nasheed — had met in Sri Lanka planning how to oust him.

Protests have become frequent in the past year amid fears Yameen will return the Maldives to its more repressive past.

Last month strict defamation laws, with punishments for comments or actions considered insulting to Islam and tighter restrictions on demonstrations came into effect.

Yameen plans to bring back the death penalty — after a 60-year unofficial moratorium — and capital punishment as a way of proving his “Islamic credentials’, a move which has drawn criticism from the UN, the UK, the EU and the US.

While the Maldives relies heavily on its billion-dollar tourism industry, that same industry promotes a feeling of inequality. Some locals resent the wealthy foreigners. Even more resent the uneven distribution of the proceeds of tourism.

The internal power struggle, combined with the increased terrorism fears, haven't hit the tourist trade.

But on August 25, the BBC announced it had received information that a move to oust the president is expected in the coming weeks.

About 7000 Australians travel to the Maldives every year, and the current Australian government travel warnings are to “exercise normal safety precautions” overall, but exercise “a high degree of caution in the capital, on Male Island, due to the possibility of civil unrest and the threat of terrorist attack.”

“Australians in the Maldives should avoid all demonstrations, protests, and large public gatherings, particularly in Male, as they may turn violent,” the government travel warning says.

“Australia and Australians are viewed by IS and other terrorist groups as a target for terrorist attacks. Even in cases where attacks may not specifically target Australian interests, Australians could be harmed in indiscriminate attacks or attacks aimed at others.”

Public observance of any religion other than Islam is prohibited in the Maldives and importation of non-Islamic religious material is illegal. In the past, foreigners have been expelled for allegedly engaging in religious preaching.

It’s at odds with the tourism brochure picture of tropical paradise perfection of year-round sun, an underwater wonderland, and rich tourists sipping cocktails on the country’s resort islands where alcohol and pork are allowed, bikinis are acceptable dress, and almost anything goes.

AUSTRALIA: Australia Tourism Bangs 7.2m Visitors

International visitors are flocking to Australia, with the latest figures showing a record 7.2 million people arrived last financial year.

The latest survey from Tourism Research Australia shows visitors came from far and wide, including Asia, the Pacific, the US and Europe.

While backpacker numbers to the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria were down Tasmania and the ACT both had more than a 10 per cent increase.

AUSTRALIA: Farmers Concerned About Noise, Trespass If Tourism Industry Grows

Hundreds of gnomes, installed by locals and eventually visitors who swell their ranks, populate an area of the Ferguson Valley and are one of the region's main tourist attractions

A push to attract more tourists to a picturesque wine and agricultural province in Western Australia's South West has exposed divisions between locals over the future of the region.

Ferguson Valley sits just 20 minutes drive from the busy regional hub of Bunbury, and is home to several beef farms and vineyards.

It also boasts the world's largest public congregation of garden gnomes at the quirky Gnomesville park.

However, it is also a region struggling to attract a solid tourist base, with many punters preferring to continue on to more well-known destinations like Margaret River and Dunsborough.

Dardanup Shire president Mick Bennett said the area had massive tourism potential, but its large blocks of land made it difficult for people to set up tourist-friendly businesses.

"We don't have a small enough area for say, even a simple thing like an ice-cream shop or a chocolate factory or something like that," he said.

"We need to start getting more things for people to do when they go into the valley.

"It's fantastic to have Gnomesville, but you need to be able to [have] a couple of other things to do on a visit."

Mr Bennett said the shire is now considering whether it should allow for many of the rural properties to be re-zoned for tourism in an attempt to encourage commercial development.

"At the moment, you need to spend a million dollars to start a tourism venture in the valley because the blocks are so large, therefore it prevents it from actually happening," he said.

"We need to get to a situation where you can allocate the correct amount of land for a tourism business and then go from there."

Not everybody is on board with the push for more visitors.

Roger Verbrugge, whose beef farm sits adjacent to the site of a proposed restaurant, claims increased development in the area is having an impact on the welfare of his animals.

"Ferguson has been a nice quiet location for the local residents for quite some time and then over recent years we've had a few restaurant type tourism establishments that have come in," he said.

If they're not careful and they push the farms out from this area and [subdivide], the place is going to lose its charm, which is the thing attracting everyone up here in the first place.
Beef farmer Roger Verbrugge

"Since then, we've had an increase in tourists coming up and interfering with our farming operations, taking photos from the fence.

"When a cow is calving, you don't want to have a group of spectators, it interferes with the calving process and causes distress for the cows and the calves.

"There's also a concern about people bringing pets out to a rural location and not controlling them. Cows in a paddock, they don't like to be disturbed."

Mr Verbrugge said his view was shared by many long-standing residents.

"For the general community, there's a noise issue but I believe the major issue for the locals is people coming out to the Ferguson Valley and not respecting the property of the neighbours and trespassing," he said.

"This has not been designated a tourist area, this is a rural area, there are restrictions on what you can do with the land and it appears to me that the Dardanup shire keeps bending the rules to suit themselves.

"If they're not careful and they push the farms out from this area and [subdivide], the place is going to lose its charm, which is the thing attracting everyone up here in the first place."
Valley 'must welcome new business to prosper'

Ferguson Valley resident of 35 years and winery owner, Quirinus Olsthoorn, argued the only way the region would prosper was by offering of an incentive for people to visit.

"It's amazing even the number of Bunbury people that don't even know we exist, and we're on their doorstep," he said.

"We need another thing besides Gnomesville, something that makes it us a bit more unique.

"People doing wood turning or glass blowing, those artisan type activities; we need an art gallery.

There's a significant number of people, particularly older people, that don't want to see any change, but then you'll find that in any community anywhere.

"We just don't have the marketing budget or the cohesion like Margaret River."

Mr Olsthroon said allowing landowners to re-zone their properties was a step in the right direction.

"What we badly need is a totally different approach by the WA Planning Commission who will not allow us to sub-divide anything," he said.

"You can't make money out of here unless you diversify and we need diversification."

Mr Olsthroon said the people who are against the proposed changes are a minority.

"Basically, farming has been more or less dead for the past 20 years," he said.

"There's a significant number of people, particularly older people, that don't want to see any change, but then you'll find that in any community anywhere.

"[The attitude is] 'I'm all right Jack, I've got my five or 10 acre block and I don't want any intrusion into my privacy', but that doesn't add anything to the community.

"One of the attractions of the Ferguson Valley is that there's still a lot of bush and a lot of trees, it has this rolling country side and it's beautiful.

"Nobody wants to see clearing, but we also want to give opportunity to people to be commercial and make a living."