China, India to remain key tourism markets for Australia

China and India will remain the key markets in Australian tourism sector and will have year-on-year growth greater than the United Kingdom, France or Japan by 2015, according to a report released on Monday.

The report of Hospitality 2015, published by business advisory and research firm Deloitte, said the industry was benefiting from high hotel occupancy rates and emerging Chinese and Indian tourist markets.

Rutger Smits, national head of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure at Deloitte, said Australian tourism had been through a slump but already was "back in growth mode".

He said Chinese tour groups were making up some of the visitor numbers lost due to a decline in Japanese tourists to Australia, and the Chinese bus tourists would become more independent travellers with more money to spend.

Alex Kyriakidis, Deloitte's Global Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure leader, said in the emerging Chinese and Indian tourists markets, the rise of the middle classes would drive significant new demand for both leisure and business hospitality.

In 2015 and beyond, there will be two key demographic drivers of change in the industry, the ageing baby boomer population, and the emerging middle classes of China and India.

Source:Xinhua