CHENGDU, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Consulate General in Chengdu announced on Thursday it has opened its first visa center in west China to accommodate the region's rapidly rising demand.

The new Chengdu center in southwest China's Sichuan Province is the fourth visa office after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Chinese tourists contribute about 7 billion Australian dollars (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) to the Australian economy each year. For every five dollars spent by foreign tourists in Australia, one comes from Chinese tourists.

China is the largest trade partner for Australia. Bilateral trade volume reached 150 billion U.S. dollars last year and the two countries signed a free trade agreement earlier this year.

Australian authorities estimate that the number of Chinese tourists to Australia would reach 1 million per year.