Australia needs to up its game to lure Chinese

Australia needs to improve its tourism infrastructure if it’s to capture a slice of China’s booming outbound tourism market, which is likely to double to 200 million by the end of the decade, Crown Resorts Chief Executive Rowen Craigie said at a conference in Melbourne.

Australia currently attracts about 700,000 Chinese visitors, but is seen at a disadvantage due to factors such as distance and the cumbersome visa process.

Crown head James Packer has already called on the government to make it simpler for Chinese to gain visas, by allowing online applications and printing the forms in Mandarin.

Craigie also said the country’s airport facilities are not world class and state government gaming regulatory and tax settings should be made more "competitive.”

The Australian state of Queensland this week announced that two Asian groups had moved through to the next stage in the process of winning licenses for two multi-billion dollar luxury casino resorts.

Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung’s Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort and ASF Group still need to gain environmental assessment approvals.

Echo Entertainment and Crown Resorts were short-listed for a third casino license in downtown Brisbane.

 

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