The Australian Government will invest a further $4.1 million in Australia's international tourism trade between China and Australia.
The China Approved Destination Status (ADS) Scheme will ensure inbound tour operators continue providing a quality service to leisure tour groups from China, based on their compliance with the ADS Code of Business Standards and Ethics.
Australia and New Zealand were the first western countries in the world to be granted "approved destination status" by the Chinese Government. The relationship is entering its 11th year and there are now more than 92 countries with this approval.
Ongoing improvement in the quality of services provided to Chinese tourists has the potential to significantly increase the number of Chinese leisure tour visitors to Australia.
China is our largest two way trading partner and our second largest tourism market based on visitor nights. Australia welcomed more than 350,000 Chinese visitors last year. This market is worth $2.8 billion for the Australian tourism industry and it continues to grow. The market is expected to be worth $5.3 billion by 2018.
By supporting the Chinese market, the Australian Government is helping Australia's 580,000 tourism businesses - a third of which are in regional Australia and 93 per cent of which are small businesses - to access this growing, high yield international market.
The decision by the Australian Government to extend the ADS Scheme will help Chinese visitors enjoy a high quality tourism experience on our shores. The ADS Scheme, introduced in 1999, has been successful in removing and keeping out rogue operators in the Chinese inbound tourism market.