THE number of international visitors to Australia hit 8.5 million in the 12 months to March 2019, with China being the biggest source of visitors, data released in mid-June revealed.

Tourism Research Australia (TRA) released its latest International Visitor Survey (IVS), revealing that the total number of visitors rose 3 percent from the previous year while the amount they spent rose 5 percent to 44.3 billion Australian dollars (US$30.4 billion).

China remained Australia’s leading tourism market, with the number of visitors from the country growing 2.9 percent to 1.3 million.

The amount spent by Chinese visitors grew by 10 percent to 12 billion Australian dollars, representing an additional 1.1 billion Australian dollars poured into Australia’s economy.

Visitor numbers from India grew by 14.6 percent to 342,694 after a 17 percent jump between 2017 and 2018.

The number of visitors from Japan rose 8.6 percent to 437,547.

(Xinhua)