China and Australia have agreed on Sunday to remove the restrictions imposed on the number of passengers flown between the two countries. The agreement is designed to increase the tourism as well as trade in the region. 

China and Australia earlier had restrictions on the number of passengers the airlines could ferry between major cities in the two countries. In a press statement, Steven Ciobo, Australia's minister for trade, tourism and investment, said, "China is Australia's fastest growing and highest spending international visitor market."

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Australia is fast becoming a favored holiday destination for Chinese. Ciobo added that the outbound Chinese market is likely to double from the existing level. It is expected that the country will send over 200 million travelers a year to Australia by 2020.

Apart from removing the quantitative restrictions, the countries have also agreed to liberalize traffic rights. The code share arrangements will also be made operational between China and Australia. The Australian Airports Association has termed the new directives as a "game changer." The association also said that the new agreement will lead to higher tourism.

According to aviation consultancy CAPA, the number of weekly non-stop flights between mainland China and Australia has grown to 114, up 18 percent during the past 12 months. China sent nearly 1.1 million Chinese visitors to Australia during the year ended in June, up 22 percent.

The new agreement has been welcomed by the industry as well. Qantas Airways Ltd. told The Wall Street Journal that the new deal will help bring about long-term growth in the aviation network in the two countries.

Tagschina, Qantas, Australia, Steven Ciobo