China Southern to fly daily in summer (and it hasn’t even launched yet!)
Hot on the heels of announcing it will fly to Brisbane 4 times per week from 17 November, enthusiastic demand has led to China Southern boosting the service to daily across China’s peak travel season from 8 December to 25 February.
“This increase by China Southern has occurred at breathtaking pace. It’s still 9 weeks from landing its first flight in Brisbane since the pandemic, but to see demand so strong this early is good news for Queensland’s economy. Chinese visitors love Brisbane, the Gold Coast and The Great Barrier Reef so the jobs from these tourists will be spread across the state,” according to Gert-Jan de Graaff, Chief Executive Officer of Brisbane Airport.
The eager response is promising for Queensland’s tourism industry as it seeks to rebuild what was its most lucrative market. Before Covid-19, China was Queensland’s leading source of international visitors with 497,000 Chinese travelers contributing just over $1.61 billion in overnight visitor expenditure.
“The 2032 Games are playing a key role in this market right now. Chinese visitors view hosting an Olympics and Paralympic Games as an important marker of status for a city. It’s very symbolic and something we can’t talk up too highly in this region because it cuts through.”
It is another success for Queensland’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, a joint Queensland Government and airports venture to supercharge the state’s visitor economy.
“This is terrific news for Queensland tourism operators,” according to Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.
“China Southern’s commitment to daily seasonal flights shows the strong demand for Queensland holidays ahead of November’s reconnection of mainland China with Brisbane.
“Bringing daily flights online for the traditional Chinese New Year travel season delivers many more opportunities for Chinese visitors to discover Queensland’s great lifestyle.
“Tourism and Events Queensland’s travel campaigns are re-igniting Chinese visitors’ love of Queensland’s world-class destinations and our State’s unique travel experiences.”
“Daily seasonal flights are a critical step in re-establishing year-round, seven-day-a-week services from China and building TEQ’s blueprint for an $11 billion visitor economy by 2032.”
China Southern will launch 4 services per week from 17 November from Guangzhou. This will rise to seasonal daily services for China’s peak travel season from 8 December to February 25.
The Brisbane Economic Development Agency has also supported the deal with destination marketing to promote Brisbane in China and the new flights.
China Southern will operate the new generation Airbus A350 aircraft to Brisbane. This will not only give passengers a superior level of comfort, but the aircraft is designed to be 50% quieter with 25% less fuel burn and CO2 emissions per seat compared to previous generation aircraft used in 2019.
Tourists arriving at BNE can connect to the largest domestic destinations network in Australia, with 52 towns and cities to choose from, 30 of them in Queensland.
Brisbane Airport is embarking on a $5+ billion investment program to meet demand leading up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, and beyond.
For more information contact Brisbane Airport 24-hour media number 0466 322 485