Lunar New Year offers small businesses a chance to connect with Chinese-Australian customers and international visitors. By training your team in cultural sensitivity, festive hospitality rituals and local customs, you can make them feel welcome and turn a seasonal boost into long-term loyalty.
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Why your business should care about Lunar New Year customers
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is no longer just “someone else’s” cultural event. In Australia, the community with Chinese ancestry grew to over 1.39 million in 2021, about 5.5 per cent of the population.
On top of that, the influx of visitors around Lunar New Year is surging. For example, in 2025 the state of New South Wales saw a substantial rise in short-term arrivals from China in January, up 13.3 per cent on the previous year.
In some sectors, from hospitality to retail, this festival is becoming almost as important as Christmas.
If your business aims to reach new or existing customers among Chinese-Australians or international travellers, Lunar New Year is a great opportunity. But only if your team knows how to treat it with respect and authenticity.
How to train your team: Four practical steps
1. Brief the team on what Lunar New Year means
Start with a short internal briefing. Explain that Lunar New Year celebrates the start of a new lunar calendar year. Many people, including Chinese-Australians and tourists from Asia, observe it with family gatherings, gift-giving, festive meals and travel. In 2025, Australia-wide Chinese communities and multicultural business precincts across Melbourne and Sydney celebrated with markets, street festivals, lion dances and cultural events.
Share with staff that red is a popular “lucky” colour, associated with good fortune, joy and prosperity.
This knowledge helps staff understand why the season matters, and treat visitors with greater sensitivity and awareness.
2. Adopt small but meaningful cultural touches
You don’t need full-scale themed décor or big marketing budgets — small gestures go a long way. Consider the following:
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Add touches of red and gold in your store or service space (lanterns, red ribbon, welcome signage)
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Offer or recommend products or services popular during Lunar New Year (gift boxes, fresh produce, shared meals, take-home fruit such as cherries or lychees) — noting that local produce like Tasmanian cherries and North Queensland lychees tend to be in high demand around this time.
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If you run a hospitality business, consider training staff in basic greetings — a simple “Xin nian kuai le” (Happy New Year) can make a big difference. A much-quoted practical tip from trend articles for small businesses going big on Lunar New Year is: make it genuine, avoid stereotypes and think of long-term community relations rather than a quick seasonal sale.
3. Provide culturally aware and sensitive customer service
Train staff to be inclusive, respectful and avoid assumptions. For example:
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Offer menus or signage in both English and – if possible – simplified Chinese, especially if you expect tourists or Chinese-Australian customers
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Be polite and patient. Recognise that for many people this is a meaningful family occasion — they may shop, eat or gather in groups
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If your business handles food or gifts imported from overseas, be aware of import and biosecurity regulations. Some traditional Lunar New Year gifts can be restricted — and failure to comply can incur heavy penalties.
4. Plan ahead — and integrate Lunar New Year into your annual calendar
Don’t treat Lunar New Year as an afterthought. Planning early gives time to:
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Order or stock relevant products (e.g. produce, gift items, festive packaging)
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Train or brief staff in cultural etiquette and service
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Promote your offer — in-store, on social media or via local community networks — in a respectful, appropriate way
As one marketer put it: don’t treat Lunar New Year like a gimmick. If you want to attract customers, your campaigns should resonate with cultural meaning and be genuine.
What this means for small business owners in Australia
If you run a café, restaurant, retail shop or service business anywhere in Australia, especially urban centres like Melbourne or Sydney, Lunar New Year can feel like a second “holiday season.”
With a substantial Chinese-ancestry population, rising multicultural events (in places like Chinatown, Box Hill, Springvale, St Alban’s) and increasing international visitation around January-February, this period represents a real commercial and community opportunity.
By investing a little time in training, adopting simple culturally respectful touches, and genuinely engaging with a diverse customer base, your business can not only get a seasonal boost but also build long-term trust and loyalty.
Conclusion
Lunar New Year is more than a date on the calendar. For many Australians, whether Chinese-Australian families, recent migrants or international travellers, it is a time of reunion, tradition and celebration.
For small businesses in Australia, that makes it a prime opportunity to show cultural respect, connect with communities and deliver positive experiences. With thoughtful training, preparation and genuine hospitality, your staff can make Lunar New Year customers feel welcome — and turn a seasonal uptick into sustained business growth.
Information from the following sites was used in this article: