Blue Mountains. Trade mission to China

Lilianfels/Echoes Boutique Hotel/ Hydro Majestic, are among 15 NSW tourism operators on a trade mission to meet up to 40 key buyers and travel trade decision-makers from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets. Visitors from China are now the largest source market for economic value to Australia, worth $3.1 billion in the year to December 2010, followed by the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Asians are also the biggest spenders, splashing out an $9 billion last year - an increase of 9 .7 per cent - including $2.4 billion by Chinese, $966 million by Koreans, $912 million by Singaporeans and $881 million from Japanese. Spending an average of 56 nights in Australia, many Chinese are coming for short educational courses, as well as long long-stayers from Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, India and France.