Port Arthur Receives Global China Accreditation

The Hodgman Liberal Government congratulates the Port Arthur Historic Site for its achievement of the globally recognised China Ready accreditation.

This recognition is an acknowledgement of the Port Arthur Historic Site’s efforts to be at the forefront of preparedness for the anticipated Chinese tourism boom.

We have an ambitious plan to attract more than 1.5 million visitors to our state every year by 2020, and Port Arthur is a key asset of Tasmania’s historic heritage that will play a leading role in further catapulting the industry towards this target.

The current Tasmanian Visitor Survey shows Port Arthur was the 4th most visited attraction in Tasmania with over 216,500 visitors, which is 20% of all visitors to Tasmania.

The eyes of the world are now on Tasmania, in China more than anywhere else following President Xi’s visit and the Premier’s Trade and Investment Mission, and we need to build on the momentum we’re seeing in visitor numbers.

Currently 10 per cent of all visitors to Port Arthur are from China. For the year ending March 2015, the Port Arthur site received 20,000 visitors from mainland China and projections show this number will grow to 25,000 by 30 June 2015.

China Ready and Accredited is an independent global training and quality assurance accreditation system which provides Chinese consumers and businesses with an assurance of a pre-determined level of cultural awareness, understanding and service quality.

The process for the Port Arthur Historic Site to achieve China Ready accreditation involved a number of staff undertaking training in cultural awareness and service standards in order to fully understand the expectations of Chinese visitors.

In addition, Port Arthur Historic Site’s Chinese language promotional materials, including brochures and website, were assessed.

Further, Port Arthur also offers a wide range of services for Chinese visitors including access to Mandarin-speaking staff and tours daily; UnionPay card payment facilities and onsite signage and visitor information in Mandarin and English.

The Management Authority has worked with the Tasmanian Tourism Industry Council to achieve this accreditation and they are both to be congratulated for their achievements and everything they do to promote, celebrate and share Tasmania’s extraordinary built heritage with the world.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage