Australia remains among the top five destinations globally for Chinese travellers during the Asian country’s week-long national holiday, according to new research.
The study, conducted by mobile payment platform Alipay, found that Australia remained the fifth most popular destination globally for Chinese travellers during Golden Week (from 1 October to 7 October) this year, based on transaction volume.
Alipay, which is used by 99 per cent of Chinese visitors (according to a 2018 Nielsen study), saw overall transaction volume grow 25 per cent in Australia compared to last year’s corresponding week.
This was driven by strong growth in the luxury retail sector, and solid performances by airport and duty-free stores, pharmacies, and merchants in popular tourist destinations such as Chinatown and the Sydney Fish Market, according to the study.
However, the report noted that Australia’s growth slowed relative to markets across Europe and Southeast Asia, as tourists opted for an increasingly varied range of destinations including Iceland, Montenegro and Uzbekistan.
Japan overtook Thailand to become the most popular Chinese tourist destination for Golden Week, based on Alipay transaction volume, for the first time. South Korea, Malaysia and Australia rounded out the top five.
Despite its transaction volume increasing 40 per cent year-on-year, New Zealand was leapfrogged by The Philippines and Cambodia to fall two spots to 13th.
There was also a generational shift to the data, with the number of Chinese travellers born in or after 2000 using Alipay during Golden Week increasing by 130 per cent.
