The sky in Wollongong on Thursday was so different from that in her homeland, Chinese tourist Yan Ling Li said she thought she could reach out and "touch the cloud".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mrs Yan, 48, who with her husband owns an agricultural supplies factory in Jilin city, northern China, was one of a large group of day trippers from Jilin province who were taking in the sights from Flagstaff Hill.
Through friend and interpreter Jason Chang, Mrs Yan said Jilin, near the border with Korea, was heavily polluted, so the appeal of the Illawarra coastline was easy to see.
"Very fresh air," she said.
"It's very beautiful. I could touch the cloud."
Mrs Yan was part of a familiar sight: a small fleet of buses tripping through the region, stopping at Austinmer Beach, then Flagstaff Hill, before heading down to the Illawarra Brewing Company for a cold local beer.
Tourism group Destination Wollongong on Thursday welcomed new figures showing the region was attracting more visitors from both Australia and overseas.
The 3.6 million domestic day trippers who visited the Illawarra in the 12 months to March were up 10 per cent on the previous year.
Destination Wollongong boss Mark Sleigh said the "It's On in the Gong" event marketing campaign over summer had paid dividends.
"The anecdotal feedback from local operators which hinted at a bumper summer period has now been backed by hard evidence, which clearly shows the region has proven itself as a premier destination," he said.
The number of international overnight visitors - 55,200 - was up 10.5 per cent, although they stayed slightly fewer nights than their domestic counterparts.
While there were no figures for international day trips, visitors from China are making up an increasing share of visitors to the region.
The 13.7 per cent of visitors from China puts them above New Zealand and the USA, and second only to the UK, in visitor share.
For visitors staying overnight, friends or relatives' places were the most popular accommodation, followed by caravan parks and rented houses or units.