The Hunter Valley should expect a boom in Chinese visitor numbers after drawing plenty of interest at a recent exhibition in China.
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A group of Hunter hospitality business people travelled to China last month to attend the Silk Road Expo, promoting and marketing the Hunter Valley and its products.
Held in Dongguan City, the Silk Road Expo is a huge exhibition with hundreds of thousands of visitors attending over the four-day period.
Ernest Hill Wines owner Ross Wilson was among the Hunter Valley contingent in attendance.
He said the Hunter Valley stand, which had 14 exhibitors, attracted plenty of attention.
“The expo stand brought the Hunter to a very small part of China and highlighted the attractions of the Hunter,” Mr Wilson said.
“However, the extensive press coverage disseminated this information to a far larger number of potential tourists.”
Mr Wilson said said the group also met with both local and provincial officials to promote the Hunter Valley at government level, and that it has already resulted in some visits from different private and government groups.
One million Chinese people visited Australia in the 12 months to January 2016, the largest proportion of visitors from any one country.
This amount is expected to double by 2020, with an estimated spend of $13 billion.
“The Hunter must be prepared to attract our fair share or we will be missing a great opportunity,” Mr Wilson said.
The Hunter-based businesses which participated in the Silk Road Expo were Draytons Family Wines, Ivanhoe Wines, Petersons Wines, Peterson House, Lambloch Estate, Ernest Hill Wines, The Vintage, Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens, Dark Horse Wines, Blue Orchid Wines and Hunter Shows.