Australian businesses are seeing an increase in travel to China as hopes rise for an end to punitive trade sanctions. Flight Centre experienced a 48% growth in corporate travel bookings between the June and September quarters. This growth is attributed to China gradually lifting COVID-19 border restrictions and rebuilding airline capacity. According to Flight Centre Corporate managing director Melissa Elf, travel between Asia and Australia has always been crucial for trade, and demand from big businesses visiting Australia is on the rise.
The increase in business travel is also driven by a growing preference for in-person meetings over virtual ones. The resurgence of meetings, events, and conferences in the last three months has contributed to the increased booking numbers. Flight Centre holds a significant share of the Australian corporate travel market, handling approximately 35% of business travel bookings.
Relations between China and Australia have improved since the election of the Albanese government. In 2020, Beijing imposed trade sanctions worth $20 billion on Australian products during a diplomatic dispute. However, China has since lifted tariffs on Australian barley, giving hope to winemakers and seafood producers for similar breakthroughs.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, expressed optimism about positively resolving the trade dispute over Australian wine exports. This positive sentiment is reflected in the recent delegation led by South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas. Representatives from various sectors, including education, wine, agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, and trade, visited China, indicating growing dialogue between the two countries.
Maintaining one-to-one relationships with Chinese partners is crucial for Australian winemakers, according to South Australian Wine Industry Association CEO Inca Lee. Lee emphasized the importance of traveling to China and welcoming Chinese importers and visitors to Australia. The meetings in China showed a positive sentiment towards Australian wine among Chinese consumers.
Before the tariffs were implemented, Australian wine exports to China were valued at over $1 billion. However, the figure has plummeted to $12 million since then. Retail businesses, including wine and food producers, were among the top sectors traveling to China in recent months, along with mining, oil, and gas, education, manufacturing, and construction companies.
Despite the growth in travel, there is still room for more development in travel between Australia and China. The current international capacity of Chinese carriers in August 2023 is about half of what it was in August 2019.