Tourism Australia has today announced the appointment of Andrew Hogg to the role of Regional General Manager Greater China, based in Shanghai.
Mr. Hogg joins Tourism Australia from Qantas Airways, where he has held his current position of General Manager China since 2011. He has held a number of other senior roles in a career spanning more than 25 years with Qantas Airways, covering finance, sales, marketing and operations.
Tourism Australia Managing Director John OโSullivan said Andrew Hogg was a well-respected and senior leader with strong international experience and a skill-set ideally suited to the role and the region.
โThis is a key position for us, and Iโm delighted weโve secured someone of Andrewโs calibre to lead our China and Hong Kong teams. Andrew has a deep knowledge of the market and is well connected in the region, both commercially and politically.
โWeโve made significant strides in the region over the last few years, developing strong aviation partnerships, laying down a solid distribution platform and rolling out a marketing strategy โ all of which are clearly focused on the lucrative free and independent travel segment.
โNowโs the time to kick on and step up our efforts to convert the enormous appeal for Australia amongst the Chinese into more actual visits, higher quality itineraries and, ultimately, increased spending,โ Mr. O’Sullivan said.
Mr. Hogg said he was looking forward to taking up such a key position leading Tourism Australiaโs Greater China team at such a critical time in the marketโs expansion.
โLast year around 100 million Chinese travelled internationally, with numbers expected to increase to 200 million in the next five years. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for Australian tourism and an exciting time to be joining Tourism Australiaโs China team,โ he said.
China is Australiaโs second largest (by volume) and most valuable inbound tourism market, currently worth more than A$5 billion annually. Recent forecasts by Tourism Australia indicate the market could be worth up to A$13 billion by the end of the decade.
Tourism Australia is strongly represented in Greater China with offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, as well as Hong Kong.