A GROUP of 12 Gold Coast tourism businesses led by Gold Coast Tourism embarked last week on an overseas mission to establish working relationships with travel operators in China.

The trip will see Historic Rivermill, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Tropical Fruit World, Southern Cross 4WD, Gold Coast Airport, Paradise Jetboating, Tall Ships, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Harbour Town Outlet Shopping Centre, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Mantra Group, and Hot Air Gold Coast engage in a 13-day programme of meetings and workshops with 80 of China’s most prominent travel wholesalers and retailers in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO, Martin Winter, said the mission was an important aspect of the destination’s strategy to develop a productive and sustainable relationship with the Chinese travel industry and tourists.

“This particular group of active Gold Coast tourism businesses are export ready but not yet connected to the Chinese market, so we are building that bridge with them,” Winter explained.

“The result will be more Gold Coast experiences being used to promote the destination in China, and more Gold Coast products being booked on itineraries for Chinese travellers,” he added.

China is the Gold Coast’s second largest source of international visitors, and is expected to overtake New Zealand as the number one international source market by June 2012.

In the year ended March 2011, the Gold Coast hosted 121,000 Chinese visitors (a 14 per cent year-on-year increase), who spent a total of A$111 million (US$117 million) in the city (a 37 per cent year-on-year increase).