Tourism Australia will launch its coastal and aquatic campaign in the Chinese market as part of Australia Week in China next week in an effort to further boost arrivals from Australia's most lucrative inbound market. 
The $40 million campaign, first launched in New York in   January, will feature similar content to that used in the US market, but more Asian talent and increased focus on passive aquatic and coastal experiences like whale-watching rather than active ones like scuba diving, in line with Tourism Australia's research.
The latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released on Thursday reported a 5.9 per cent rise in Chinese arrivals to 173,600 in the month of   February, but when   January was included to normalise for the earlier Chinese New Year holiday this year, the numbers rose by 21.1 per cent to 287,900.
In the month of   February, total international arrivals rose by 10.3 per cent to 796,700. Earlier this week, the ABS reported Australia reported $4.11 billion in tourism income, the highest on record.
"Tourism [had] a stunning performance in   February," said Steve Whan, the manager of the Australian Chamber National Tourism Council. "One in five visitors to Australia in   February came from mainland China."
However, he warned competing nations were moving faster to simplify visa processes for Chinese travellers. Thailand last year introduced a $US36 ($47) visa on arrival for Chinese travellers that helped contribute to a 71 per cent rise in Chinese visitors to that country in 2015. For Australian visas, Chinese travellers need to submit a detailed application and pay $135.
"It's great that ministers are in China at the moment working hard to promote Australia, but they need to build on their good work so far, by accelerating the roll out of fully online visa application processes in Mandarin," Mr Whan said.
Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan, who will join his group's chairman Tony South and Tourism and International Education Minister Richard Colbeck for a gala event in Shanghai next week, said the latest arrivals figures provided further evidence of the important contribution the tourism industry was making to Australia's economic well-being.
"  February's numbers continue what has been a very strong start to 2016, with north Asia and south-east Asia leading the charge, but significant contributions also coming from our traditional markets such as the United States and Europe," he said.
The number of arrivals from Japan rose by 33 per cent to 42,200 amid an increase in air capacity, while the number of arrivals from South Korea rose by 35 per cent to 28,400. US arrivals grew by 15.2 per cent to 71,300, but New Zealand arrivals fell by 0.8 per cent to 79,000.
In   February, the number of Australians heading overseas rose by 4.2 per cent to 577,600 in what is typically one of the weaker months for outbound travel. The number of Australians travelling to the US fell by 2.8 per cent to 53,000 despite recent increases in air capacity between the countries.
In contrast, there was a 6.6 per cent rise in Australians heading to New Zealand, a 12.4 per cent rise in departures for Indonesia and a 26.9 per cent rise for Japan.