The marketing campaign will see three major Chinese travel wholesalers: China Travel International Guangdong; GZL International Travel Services; and Beijing Caissa International Travel Service, and their network of more than 1,500 retail travel agents selling Sydney and NSW-only holiday packages across China.

Major and emerging markets across 13 cities in Northern and Southern China will be targeted, such Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

“The NSW Government wants Chinese visitors to have an all-encompassing NSW holiday experience – from their arrival at Sydney Airport, staying in our hotels, tasting our food and wine, shopping til they drop, to visiting our attractions and exploring our wonderful regions,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to further enhancing tourism from China to NSW, which is currently worth $1.4 billion to the NSW economy and is up 18 per cent in the last year.

“The NSW Government is committed to driving tourism as part of our plan to grow the economy and secure jobs – and this campaign shows we are delivering.

“It also fulfils one of the key recommendations of the NSW Government’s China Tourism Strategy 2012-2020, which saw the Government commit $15 million over four years for its implementation.

“This $600,000 campaign builds on our unique tourism strengths and helps ensure that NSW is the premier destination for tourists from China into the next decade.

“China has passed New Zealand to top the list of international tourists to NSW and we want to consolidate those gains and drive it even more.

“The packages will focus on group and fully independent travellers and highlight the many wonderful things to see and do in Sydney and NSW, including attractions in Sydney, the Hunter Valley, Central Coast, Wollongong, South Coast and the Blue Mountains as well as offering self-drive options, golf packages, food and wine, Aboriginal cultural experiences and attendance at festivals and key events.

“On top of our world class destinations and attractions, events such as, Vivid Sydney, which last year saw 7,200 Chinese visitors come to Sydney on Vivid Sydney travel packages, have really turbo charged visitation from China to NSW.”

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