Tourism Australia: First AFL Premiership game in China hits the mark
12-May-2017 In what is tipped to be a winning move for Australian tourism, Tourism Australia will host the first ever Toyota AFL Premiership season match to be played in China.
The game between the Gold Coast Suns and Port Adelaide at the Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai will be played in front of a sell-out crowd and a broadcast audience in China of millions.
As the Official Tourism Partner for the game, Tourism Australia will work alongside South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism and Events Queensland to leverage tourism opportunities in China before, during and after the game.
Tourism Australia branding will be displayed on the back of both club guernseys and on the playing surface with destination imagery of South Australia and the Gold Coast also visible inside and outside the stadium.
Tourism Australia Regional General Manager, Greater China, Andrew Hogg said media exposure from the AFL game and tourism-related events alongside it involving travel agents and distribution partners would significantly boost Australia's profile in China and showcase Adelaide and the Gold Coast as tourism destinations to a new Chinese audience.
"The game is a historic occasion for the sport of AFL and also for Australia's tourism industry. The timing could not be more perfect, with 2017 having been designated as "China Australia Year of Tourism". For us, this year is all about converting the aspiration we know the Chinese already have for Australia into more visits. Bringing one of our national sports to China provides a unique and exciting opportunity for us to promote Australia within our fastest growing and most valuable tourism market," he said.
Tourism and Events Queensland Chair Bob East said the historic occasion would further cement Queensland as the destination of choice for Chinese tourists.
"Chinese travellers love the Gold Coast and showcasing an AFL game featuring the Gold Coast Suns in Shanghai will further demonstrate how much the state has to offer. More than 484,000 Chinese tourists visited Queensland last year, making China our most valuable international market, and we're determined to continue to build on that momentum," he said.
The game is one of more than 100 separate events taking place in China and Australia as part of the "China Australia Year of Tourism" announced in Shanghai in February by Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, The Hon Steven Ciobo MP.
Last year, more than 1.2 million Chinese visitors spent more than A$9 billion visiting Australia.