The first month of the year saw record numbers of people travel to Australia.
According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, close to 560,000 people visited the country in January - an 8.7 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2013.
Visitors from Asian countries rose substantially, with arrivals from Malaysia increasing by 40 per cent, and travellers from Hong Kong and Singapore up by 26 per cent.
The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) welcomed the new results and showed the importance of the coutnry's tourism industry focusing on events such as the Chinese New Year.
TTF chief executive Ken Morrison said: "It's a strong result which also demonstrates the attractiveness of Australia as a destination for New Year travel, as well as the importance of aviation capacity to growing demand."
He added the month had also saw an 8.2 per cent increase in visitors from the UK, a 10.6 per cent rise in German tourists and a 15 per cent improvement in tourists from Italy.
Posted by Ravin Chatlani.