New Zealand, Australia eye more Chinese tourists

New Zealand and Australia are gearing up to welcome more Chinese tourists during the current peak travel season in the Southern Hemisphere and beyond, with China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays aiding visitor flows and giving a boost to the Pacific nations' pillar industries.

Louise Upston, New Zealand's minister for tourism and hospitality, told China Daily that with China as one of New Zealand's main tourism markets, recording nearly 250,000 arrivals in the year ending July 2025, "we know that over 60 million Chinese travellers are actively considering a visit to New Zealand".

"For every one of those visitors who does come to New Zealand, they help our economy grow; and of course we also want our Chinese friends to have a great time when they are here," she said.

China's National Day holiday period, or Golden Week, which began Oct 1 coincides this year with the Mid-Autumn Festival – which is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Chinese calendar, or Oct 6 this year.

Upston mentioned her recent trip to China, where she led an industry delegation on a tourism-focused trade mission to major Chinese cities Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, meeting with representatives of Chinese airlines and e-commerce platforms, and tourism sector professionals.

"Our recent mission promoted New Zealand's tourism sector, met with local travel-trade businesses and organizations to better understand the Chinese market, and generally strengthened our relationship with China," she said.

"My delegation and I met with a warm welcome, and it was the same story when I visited (China) with the prime minister earlier in the year," Upston said, referring to a visit by New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

"This was another important opportunity to reinforce that New Zealand is open for business and that we welcome our Chinese visitors with open arms," she said.

Upston has highlighted efforts to increase the number of Chinese visitors to New Zealand, by making it quicker, easier and cheaper for Chinese nationals to visit New Zealand via Australia from November, if they hold an eligible Australian visa.

Auckland Airport is set for a travel surge, with international arrivals expected to hit a high of about 15,500 on Oct 3, going into the weekend.

China will be one of the top countries of origin for arrivals at the New Zealand airport during the spring travel surge in the Southern Hemisphere, according to an airport statement.

"New Zealand is a bucket list destination for many visitors. Our natural beauty, unique culture and isolation are what attracts people here," said Scott Tasker, chief customer officer of Auckland Airport.

Maria Li, a tour agency operator specializing in travel packages for Chinese visitors to New Zealand, told China Daily more of her customers have been inquiring about itineraries for the holidays.

"We're seeing steady, post-pandemic recovery, with many travelers signing up for tours amid the pent-up demand," she said.

The tourism sector in neighboring Australia is similarly looking to the Chinese market for more visitor flows.

Nick Henderson, regional general manager for China at Tourism Australia, the government agency responsible for attracting international visitors, told China Daily that the Chinese market continues to be a very important one for Australian tourism, and that "national holidays provide a great opportunity" for Chinese travelers to visit Australia.

Henderson pointed to recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that Australia welcomed 962,000 visitors from China in the 12 months to July, a year-on-year increase of more than 16 percent.

Visitor arrivals from China for July were up 9 percent year-on-year, he said.

"Based on the latest results and feedback from our industry partners, we are anticipating an influx of visitors from China for the upcoming holidays and beyond," Henderson said.

With the growing number of Chinese travelers visiting Australia, "we are excited by the opportunities the peak travel season offers to welcome more visitors from China", he said.

Latest efforts to tap the Chinese market include Tourism Australia's launch in August of the second part of its global "Come and Say G'day" travel campaign in China to further inspire travelers to plan and book an Australian holiday.

"This latest chapter of 'Come and Say G'day' aims to build on the success of the first chapter of the campaign, which launched in China in 2023, with a new tailored approach focusing on the romance and lasting memories of Australian holiday in a way that resonates with Chinese travelers," Henderson said.

He added that China is "a market of major importance to our overarching tourism strategy at Tourism Australia and we continue to deliver a full program of activity to continue building demand for Australia's travel experiences" among Chinese travelers.

While total spending by international visitors to Australia continues to grow to record levels, inbound travel is steadily rebuilding back to 2019 levels and "China is a key market to help us reach these milestones", Henderson said.

James Chen, who runs a Melbourne-based travel agency catering to Chinese tourists, said Australia remains a major attraction for them.

"Chinese outbound travel during the holiday season continues to be a growth engine for the sector globally," Chen told China Daily, "and we are always one of the top destinations for them."

Xin Xin in Sydney contributed to this report.