Australia increasingly dependent on Chinese tourism
Tourism Australia is predicting a 20% increase in arrivals from China, despite recent stock market turmoil, which is a relief for Australia.  The country is becoming increasingly reliant on Chinese tourism, where any possible disruption to spending could deal a blow to the Australian economy, which is struggling to find new avenues of growth amid a fall in commodity prices and a decline in mining related investment.  Also, whilst Chinese tourists are second to New Zealanders in arrival numbers, they spend more than double the Kiwi's do whilst in Australia.  

The latest federal government data shows Chinese tourists spent $7 billion in Australia in the year to June, a 32 per cent increase on the same time last year.

On a quarterly basis the spending increase was a staggering 70 per cent, as a record 940,000 Chinese visitors arrived in Australia.

While Chinese tourists are second to New Zealanders in arrival numbers, they spend more than double what the Kiwi's do while in Australia. That has helped to make tourism Australia's largest services export contributing $34 billion to the economy and employing 500,000 people.

Ctrip, China's largest online booking site for group and independent travellers, said short haul trips to Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong were the most popular at this time of year.

Chinese tourists celebrating the start of their new year by singing karaoke on the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Wolter Peeters

But the company said Australia, the United States and Europe were also in strong demand, despite the recent stock market turmoil and devaluation of the yuan.

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China's state media said 4 million Chinese tourists are expected to leave the country during the holiday period, an 11 per cent increase on last year.

This is dwarfed by the estimated 532 million domestic trips which will be taken during the holiday, as migrant workers return to their home towns and others use the break to see sights within China.

Just three days before the holiday, China's central government tightened restrictions on cash withdrawals from foreign ATMs in an attempt to prevent capital outflows and a further weakening of the yuan. The new rules limit overseas cash withdrawals using China's Union Pay service to a total of 50,000 yuan ($10,800) for the period between October 1 and December 31 this year.

However at Sydney's Star casino on Friday a man, who gave his name only as Mr Fu, said the new rules will not impact his spending while on holiday in Australia.

"You [can] still buy things using a credit card. You can use a card to buy anything you want. Why do you need cash for?" said the financial adviser from Shanghai.

A young couple from Beijing, who declined to disclose their names, also said the crackdown on ATM withdrawals will not cause difficulty as they could use a credit card.

For 2016 the limit for an individual is an annual 100,000 yuan ($21,800), according the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

State-owned Union Pay is China's only inter-bank network and it also allows tourists to withdraw money from their domestic bank accounts while overseas, effectively negating the country's capital controls.