Guided by findings of a new research study, Australia will expand its tourism machinery to include enticing those in China's growing second-tier cities which ironically have a population bigger than New York City in the U.S.

In the new study, Australia will tap into the cities of Shenzhen which has a population of around 13 million; Tianjin with more than 12 million; Suzhou with 11.7 million; and, Hangzhou with 8.7 million. New York City in the U.S. has a population of 8.1 million.

Tourism Australia (TA), which commissioned the study, said China has become Australia's fastest-growing and most valuable inbound tourism market. In 2011 alone, influx of Chinese tourism gave more than $3.8 billion to Australia, translating to a 15 per cent increase over 2010. It found a total of 558,000 Chinese nationals came to see Australia last year.

"We plan to use these findings to help prioritise our marketing activities in China," Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director of TA, said in a statement.

"Tourism Australia will make a further record investment in marketing resources in China in 2012, for the market is unprecedented in terms of its high growth and high value."

TA's marketing is currently aimed on China's three big urban centers, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The three cities, according to TA, have a combined population of 58 million.

Although it found no significant differences between people in tier 1 and tier 2 cities in China, in terms of choices for leisure travel, Mr McEvoy said the results of the research will help enable TA to maximise its marketing reach and impact, given that under its strategic plan launched in middle 2011, it will target more than 30 tier two cities in three phases between now up to end of the decade.

TA is a statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for tourism marketing within Australia and internationally. It conducts research and forecasting of domestic and global tourism trends. Merging four previous organisations, TA was established on July 1, 2004.