Australia’s hotels, restaurants, tourism operators and some of our most popular attractions face a combined $1 billion loss in revenue for every month the Chinese travel ban remains in force, with industry chiefs calling for a government rescue package to save jobs and businesses.

The federal government’s blanket ban on Chinese tourists, announced four days after Beijing grounded Chinese group tours to Australia, has already caused an abrupt, mass cancellation of bookings on what is traditionally the busiest and most profitable time of the year for businesses that target the Chinese market.

While Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham described the tourism industry as “incredibly resilient” and predicted it would recover from the twin impact of this summer’s bushfires and coronavirus, Restaurant & Catering Association chief executive Wes Lambert said help would be needed to stop businesses going to the wall.

Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham says China travel ban will have a "significant impact" but Australia's tourism industry is resilient. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“Some members have told us they have gotten calls from some of their tourism operators that have had cancellations in the hundreds of thousands,’’ Mr Lambert told The Age.