Where the bloody hell are you? (China)
China held firm to its Zero-COVID strategy in 2022 and the effects were felt far beyond its borders, impacting everything from global supply chains to trade and travel. And Australia was no exception. Now China's reopening will have important implications for Australia in two key areas: international education and tourism.
Pre-COVID China was Australians single largest source for tourism revenue based on spending data from Tourism Research Australian. In 2019 visitors from China accounted for roughly 25% of all tourist spending.
Now borders are reopening, where are all the Chinese tourists? The ABS publishes monthly data on Chinese tourist arrivals but unfortunately this is released months in arrears. The chart below shows that as of yet hardly any Chinese tourists are arriving in Australia and so the total number of tourists arriving in Australia is far below 2019 levels.
But hope can be seen in data related to the number of Chinese students expected to return to Australia. More than 200,000 visas have been granted to foreign students in the three months to January and more than 75,000 students have already arrived according to the department of home affairs.
Unfortunately this data isn't broken up by country of origin but given Australia's status as a popular destination for Chinese students before the pandemic it's highly likely this is an early indication that Chinese students and tourists will be returning soon.
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