More flights, relaxed visa policies and promotional events are bringing up the number of Chinese visitors heading Down Under.

About 1.3 million Chinese visited Australia over the 12 months leading up to Sept 30. Their spending increased by 13 percent to AUD $10.3 billion ($7.9 billion) during the period.

"China is our increasingly important market, and we expect it would become our most important market globally by 2020," Tourism Australia's president Bob East says.

China and Australia launched the Year of Tourism in Sydney on Feb 5, 2017, paving the way for over 100 activities to boost mutual tourism.

Chinese visitors have been able to get 10-year, multi-entry visas since the end of 2016. And the entire application process can be done online in Chinese.