Gold class tour for Chinas rich
Tourism authorities are trying to lure 30 wealthy Chinese visitors to Australia over Christmas in a one-off, $70,000 package tour that includes two nights in Perth.
The 22-day tour to every State and Territory includes business- class flights and accommodation in some of Australia's best hotels.
The group will arrive in Perth on December 22 and stay at the Fraser Suites.
They will do a city tour of Fremantle, visit the Perth Mint and dine at Restaurant Amuse.
They will then fly to the Northern Territory for Christmas Day in Darwin and New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour.
Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan admitted the promotion was aimed at making headlines in China but was also part of a broader strategy to entice one million Chinese visitors to Australia by 2020, who would spend more than $13 billion a year.
"Sure, we know this holiday may be out of the reach of many Chinese travellers, but this is also aspirational," he said. "What we're really seeking to do is create a buzz, a sense of excitement and new news about Australia."
Chinese travel agent Omar Chen said the package was targeted at China's richest citizens who were looking for exclusivity.
"We know from experience that exclusive packages such as this generate huge interest and can have a knock-on effect on bookings," Mr Chen, general manager of HH Travel, said. "We already offer a similar 88-day world travel tour which, when we launched it this year, sold out in seconds.
"We're hoping for a similar response with this, particularly as we know that Australia is top of the wish list of most Chinese travellers.
"We expect the publicity around the promotion to generate extensive inquiries about other, more affordable holidays."
China continues to be an important market for WA tourism.
The latest data shows 35,600 Chinese tourists come to WA every year - a number that has jumped about 14 per cent in the past three years.
