China's appetite for mining-related investments in Australia may be dwindling, but its appetite for Australian scenic spots has helped the resource-rich nation post a record number of tourist arrivals in August.

Latest government data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed that the number of Chinese visitors, despite the high Australian dollar, fueled the year to August arrivals to hit 6 million, a first for Australia. A total of 607,900 Chinese visitors entered Australia during the period, connoting to a 16 per cent surge from a year ago, followed by a 14 per cent increase from Taiwan.

"While some commentators debate whether the mining boom is over, in the background China is becoming more and more important to Australia in a host of ways," Craig James, chief economist at CommSec, said in a statement.

"This is still the early days of Chinese urbanisation and industrialisation so the growth opportunities in coming years are huge."

Overall, Australia's record breaking number of tourist arrivals was anchored on the number of Asian sightseers that came to see Australia and its scenic spots.

The number of Asian visitors jumped 6.5 per cent during the period in review, versus the 1.2 per cent growth from the rest of the world.

Japanese visitors grew 7.5 per cent for the year to August, while those from Singapore and Indonesia likewise improved to 17.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of Australians going out of the country to travel overseas has dropped to six per cent compared to the previous year's more than 10 per cent growth.

New Zealand still continued to be the Australian's most popular destination, followed by Indonesia and Thailand. French Polynesia, however, is getting to be fastest-growing destination for Australian travellers.

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