Photo: Courtesy of Trip.com Group

Australian tourism agency is expanding cooperation with Chinese online travel platforms to meet rising tourist demand, as the global "visit-China" momentum is increasingly gaining pace in recent years worldwide.

Trip.com told the Global Times on Tuesday that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with senior officials from the country's tourism bureau, visited the headquarters of Trip.com Group in Shanghai, and engaged in in-depth discussions on tourism products promotion, enhancing market collaboration, and pursuing sustainable development.

The visit came amid the background as Albanese is paying a week-long visit to China. In addition to the high-level meetings in Beijing, his visit includes stops in Shanghai and Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, looking for cooperation opportunities in business, investment, tourism and other sectors.

"China is one of Australia's largest inbound tourism markets, and we have always valued our collaboration with Chinese travel partners. Through this partnership, we look forward to creating a more immersive and appealing Australian travel ecosystem to better serve and meet the needs of travelers from China and beyond," said Robin Mack, Tourism Australia Executive General Manager Global Markets & Business Events, according to the information Trip.com shared with the Global Times. 

As one of the most popular long-haul destinations for Chinese travelers, Australia consistently ranks high on China's outbound travel hotlist, too.

Data from Trip.com showed that Australia was the top long-haul destination for Chinese travelers during the 2025 Chinese New Year holidays and remains the leading Southern Hemisphere destination for Chinese tourists in 2024.

Amid the global tourism recovery, Sino-Australian tourism cooperation has demonstrated remarkable resilience and potential, said Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun.

Thanks to its opening-up drive, China's outbound and inbound tourism is also booming. Last year, the number of tourist trips made by foreigners almost doubled to reach 26.94 million. This robust momentum has been sustained this year. 

China and Malaysia will implement a mutual visa-free agreement beginning July 17.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson of Foreign Ministry said on Friday that that China's unilateral visa-free and transit visa-free countries have been expanded to 47 and 55 respectively.

Recently, Malaysia Aviation Group, the parent company of national carrier Malaysia Airlines, has exercised its purchase rights for 20 additional A330neo aircraft through a direct order with Airbus. The expanded widebody fleet will enhance connectivity and drive network development across key markets in ASEAN, China, India, and Australasia, the group said. 

Malaysia Airlines said it looks forward to welcoming more Chinese travelers onboard and supporting the national agenda to strengthen cultural and economic linkages between two countries. 

Malaysia Airlines currently operate 52 weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Hong Kong, and Taipei. These routes recorded an average load factor of 80 percent in the first half of 2025, a strong indicator of the market's vibrancy and continued interest in Malaysia as a destination, Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of Malaysia Aviation Group told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

To build on this momentum, we are actively exploring the potential to enhance flight frequencies and introduce additional routes, especially to emerging secondary cities, to further support growing bilateral exchanges in tourism, trade, and cultural interaction, he said. 

On Tuesday, online travel platform Qunar.com announced the launch of its English version website, providing users with English booking services for hotels, air tickets, trains and vacation products.

The company said that the launch of English version is due to an explosive growth of inbound tourism.

According to Qunar.com, in the first half of this year, the number of domestic flights booked via the platform using non-Chinese passports increased by about 30 percent year-on-year, and last year it increased by 1.8 times compared to 2023.

Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, are the top three source markets for inbound tourism in the first half of this year, Qunar.com said. 

Global Times