Rooms for rent - Australian hotels expand rapidly to catch Chinese tourism boom

The nearly completed 590-room Sofitel hotel can be seen in the Darling Harbour area of Sydney, Australia, amid a nationwide boom in hotel building, January 31, 2017. Picture taken January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Tom Westbrook

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The hole in Australia's economy dug by China's dwindling appetite for its resources is being filled by the Chinese themselves, whose growing affluence is powering a surge in travellers in a boon to tourism income and growth.

Emboldened by the flood of big-spending Asian tourists, Australian hotel developers have embarked on their biggest expansion ever.