An agreement between the Australian Government and the China National Tourism Administration, which will encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Australia, has been welcomed by the Tourism Australia Managing Director, Scott Morrison.

Tourism Australia welcomes this latest extension of the Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme to tourists from all provinces of China.

This is an important development for the Australian tourism industry as tourism from China is forecast to reach $5.9 billion annually by 2014, becoming our second largest market by spend in just three years.

Under the new arrangement the scheme will cover an additional 855 million Chinese citizens growing the pool of potential tourists to Australia, representing an exciting opportunity for Australia.

The Australian Government recently announced strengthened arrangements for Chinese tourists through improvements to the China ADS Scheme.

These arrangements aim to ensure that Australia continues to develop as the destination of choice for Chinese travellers by offering a quality experience for visitors, particularly those who will spend more.

It is crucial that Australia offers high quality tourism experiences that satisfy the needs of all international travellers, particularly those from emerging markets such as China.

China is an important market for Australia with travel from China increasing more than 40 per cent over the past three years and expected to grow a further 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

The China market represents an enormous long-term opportunity for Australian tourism forecast to grow at more than 16 per cent annually to reach about 1.2 million visitors per year by 2014.

Tourism Australia is focusing on targeting Chinese visitors who will spend more and disperse widely when in Australia spreading the economic benefits of tourism throughout the country, Mr Morrison concluded.