Destinations known | Australia-China relations are worsening so why do Australians still want Chinese tourists back?

While Australians are concerned about both the downward spiral in relations and China’s new assertiveness, they recognise the tourism benefits, a study finds

About 1.3 million of Australia’s 9.4 million international arrivals in 2019 hailed from mainland China, equalling New Zealand as the largest source market

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A tour guide with Chinese tourists outside the Sydney Opera House in pre-pandemic times. Photo: Getty Images

Mercedes Hutton

Published: 8:45am, 23 Jun 2021Updated: 5:09pm, 30 Jun 2021

To say that relations between China and Australia are strained is something of an understatement. Wine, the Great Barrier Reef, lobsters, 5G technology and the origins of Covid-19 have all been caught in the crosshairs by the duelling nations, and analysts predict things will remain “complicated” for the foreseeable future.

“I see no prospects on the horizon for this relationship to get back on track,” said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), to American network CNBC in May.

So, it might come as a surprise to discover that the general Aussie public appears to have fond feelings for Chinese tourists – or perhaps, more accurately, the money they inject into the economy.

On June 16, the ACRI released the findings of its inaugural annual study – completed with the Centre for Business Intelligence & Data Analytics at the UTS – into Australian views on the Australian-China relationship. Described by the institute as “the most comprehensive survey of Australian public opinion” on the matter, the results paint “a complicated picture” of a population “clearly still trying to make sense of this period of tumult and understand a constantly evolving strategic situation”.

Chinese tourists sit and view the Sydney Opera House, which is lit up red to welcome in the Lunar New Year of the Monkey on February 8, 2016. Photo: Getty Images

“While Australians are concerned about both the downward spiral in relations and China’s new assertiveness, they are not yet willing to give up on the relationship entirely, recognising some of its benefits,” writes the ACRI. So, while 76 per cent of those surveyed said they distrusted the Chinese government, almost as many – 74 per cent – believed that “Tourists from China provide a major economic benefit to Australia” and 63 per cent agreed “Australia should continue towards making Australia an attractive destination for Chinese tourists”.