China charters to boost Far North Queensland

CAIRNS – China Southern Airlines will fly four tourist charter flights from Guangzhou, China, to Queensland for Chinese New Year next week.

The first of the charter flights using a Boeing 777-200 will land in Cairns on January 28.

Chartered by China’s GZL International Travel Service and Guangdong LB Air Service Company, the flights will arrive over two days, bringing the total number of visitors to approximately 1500.

“Australia is an increasingly popular destination for travellers from China, and tropical Far North Queensland provides not only an exciting and different holiday opportunity but a great respite from the northern hemisphere winter,” said James Liu, general manager Australia for China Southern Airlines.

“This injects a significant amount of money into the Australian tourism industry and provides valuable exposure in China for this great region of Australia.”

The four charters come to Far North Queensland as China Southern considers launching scheduled flights to Brisbane, as part of a significant international expansion plan.

Aside from Australia, the airline also has plans to introduce other key destinations, including New York and London.