Tropical Far North Queensland has received another boost to its hard-pressed tourism sector with the announcement that China Southern Airlines will launch flights to Cairns from December.
China Southern, China’s largest international carrier, will operate three flights per week to Cairns from its base in Guangzhou. The carrier will also boost its Brisbane services from four per week to daily.
China Southern CEO and president, Tan Wangeng, said that by the end of 2015, China Southern flights to Australia would exceed 55 each week, "which will draw more European travellers to Guangzhou as their transfer point to Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia".
Tourism and Transport Forum CEO John Lee said the China Southern announcement "proves that a new generation of travellers from China are as keen as previous tourists to discover the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, with 74,500 Chinese visitors to the region last year".
Lee said coming off the back of a similar announcement last month by China Eastern Airlines, the China Southern flights would provide "a welcome shot in the arm to the Cairns economy as it rebuilds after a significant slump in tourist numbers since Cyclone Yasi last February".
