04
March
2016
|
09:00
Australia/Brisbane

BNE welcomes Routes Asia 2018

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) CEO and Managing Director, Julieanne Alroe, said being named the host city for Routes Asia 2018, the leading aviation route development forum for Asia, will give Brisbane an unparalleled opportunity to show the major route planners from around Asia why Brisbane Airport (BNE) should be at the top of their list for new services.

With the completion of its New Parallel Runway in 2020, BNE will boast similar capacity to the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore airports today, positioning the airport as an even more important gateway to Australia than ever before.

“BNE is on the cusp of its most exciting phase in its history, with more than $3.8 billion being invested in critical infrastructure over the next 10 years that will underpin domestic and international tourism growth for the next 50 years,” Ms Alroe said.

“BAC has an essential role to play in building this part of the state and national economy.

“Indeed, we believe Brisbane Airport is the most important link in the tourism industry in this state because every new service to BNE drives tourism growth not just into Brisbane itself, but into Tropical North Queensland, the Whitsundays, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and beyond,” Ms Alroe said.

During 2015, BNE welcomed new international services including Qantas’ inaugural flight to Tokyo (Narita), along with Etihad’s now daily direct flight to Abu Dhabi. Most recently, BNE welcomed its first inaugural China Eastern flight to Shanghai, with new Air Canada service to Vancouver and a fourth daily Singapore Airlines to Singapore launching later this year.

“In the National Trade accounts published a few weeks ago inbound tourism is the best performing area of service exports – income from foreign tourists now matches Australia’s total rural exports. It is a major growth sector and it is labour intensive.

“Every single one of the more than $3.8 billion we expect to spend over the next decade is a dollar spent building the tourism industry,” Ms Alroe said.

“We are gathering partners to find new and innovative ways to encourage travel into Brisbane and onto the Gold and Sunshine coasts, the Tropical North and the Whitsundays.

“We are backing the growing role of the arts and events in Brisbane with sponsorships, partnerships and an active engagement in building the destination. Over the next few years you will see us playing an even more visible role in generating tourism business for every part of Queensland,” Ms Alroe said.

Brisbane Airport is the main gateway for visitors to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, the outback, the Tropical North, the Whitsundays and beyond.