CHINESE actor Wu Xiubo has been appointed Tourism Australia’s Ambassador for the 2017 China-Australia Year of Tourism.

    The appointment was announced by Steven Ciobo, the Australian minister for trade, tourism and investment, Tuesday.

    The chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Li Jinzao, was present.

    The China-Australia Year of Tourism celebrates the close relationship between the two countries and recognizes the importance of the Chinese market for Australia’s tourism industry.

    “China is Australia’s most valuable tourism market, with the potential to be worth more than US$13 billion by 2020. Last year, 1.2 million Chinese visited Australia. We anticipate this will grow during the China-Australia Year of Tourism and will continue to grow afterward.”

    Recent initiatives to support two-way tourism between the two countries include the trial of the 10-year visitor visa; the open aviation market services arrangement which removes all capacity restrictions for airlines on both sides; and a new Beijing to Sydney service by Qantas Airways which was launched in January. (SD-Agencies)