- Tourism Minister and WA tourism industry representatives in China to advance tourism, trade, aviation links, and marketing activity in the region
- Mission includes key meetings with aviation stakeholders, senior government representatives, and travel businesses
- China remains WA's largest international visitor market by spend
- Part of the Cook Government's economic diversification strategy to increase visitation to Western Australia, supporting local jobs, and businesses
The Cook Government is leading a tourism and trade mission to China to strengthen aviation connectivity, grow inbound visitation, and deepen partnerships with one of the State's most valuable international visitor markets.
WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby is leading the delegation of more than 20 Western Australian tourism operators, Perth Airport and government representatives to meet with major tourism stakeholders across Shanghai and Guangzhou.
This includes discussions with China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines to explore opportunities to grow aviation services into Western Australia.
The mission will formalise partnerships with prominent in-market tourism partners Ctrip and Fliggy, with the agreements with the major retailers to support increased visitation and awareness of Western Australia among the important Chinese market.
China remains Western Australia's largest international market by visitor spend, with more than 70,000 visitors contributing $488 million to the State's economy in the year to September 2025.
The visit also provides an opportunity to unveil new creative for Tourism Western Australia's Walking On A Dream brand in China.
First launched in 2022, the campaign has played a key role in driving Western Australia's tourism recovery, with WA becoming the first Australian state to achieve a full return of overseas travellers two years ahead of national forecasts and welcoming a record one million international visitors in the year to October 2025.
The mission comes after China Southern Airlines recently extended its service between Guangzhou and Perth to a year-round route, delivering an additional 42,000 inbound seats to Western Australia each year. The expansion is conservatively estimated to generate up to $24.7 million annually for the State's economy and support more than 250 jobs.
The year-round service between Guangzhou and Perth is one of 23 direct international routes connecting WA to the world, reinforcing Perth's position as Australia's Western Gateway and boosting the tourism industry to further diversify the WA economy.
Find out more at tourism.wa.gov.au/china
As stated by Tourism Minister Reece Whitby:
"China is Western Australia's most valuable international tourism market by spend, and this mission is about building on that strength by securing new partnerships, expanding aviation connectivity, and driving increased visitation into our State.
"Meeting directly with major airline and tourism partners allows us to showcase the strength of demand for Western Australia and the unique experiences that continue to resonate with Chinese travellers.
"By unveiling our new iteration of Walking On A Dream in-market, we're also continuing to tell Western Australia's story in a way that inspires travel and supports sustainable, long-term growth in visitation.
"Deepening Western Australia's partnership with China is all part of the Cook Government's economic diversification strategy, aimed at driving visitation, increasing awareness of our State, and supporting a stronger tourism sector that benefits local jobs and local businesses."
