China Southern Airlines - Guangzhou to Brisbane – flights increase to meet holiday demand
Great news for holiday makers as China’s busiest airline commits to daily services between Brisbane and China’s mainland from December 2023.
China Southern Airlines announced it would be expanding direct Brisbane services from Guangzhou, China to daily from December to February, coinciding with the traditional Chinese New Year peak travel season.
The enhanced services are part of a suite of strategic aviation partnerships secured by the Palaszczuk Government’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF) in conjunction with Queensland’s international airports.
The partnerships have been developed to accelerate Queensland’s post-COVID19 economic recovery by supporting the restart, growth of service frequency/capacity and development of new aviation routes into Queensland airports.
The holiday increase comes on the back of China Southern’s announcement last month that it would once again reconnect mainland China to Queensland with direct flights from Guangzhou four times a week, starting from mid-November.
With the latest news, visitors can access all that Queensland has to offer over the summer holidays with even greater ease.
The announcement also consolidates returning trade opportunities and capacity for growing international student numbers following the lifting of pandemic suspensions.
Before the pandemic, China was Queensland’s biggest source of international visitors with almost 500,000 travellers generating $1.6 billion a year.
Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said the increase by China Southern had 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,” he said.
“Chinese visitors love Brisbane, the Gold Coast and The Great Barrier Reef, so the jobs from these tourists will be spread across the state.”
The China Southern announcement is the 25th service being supported by the AAIF and becomes an integral part of the anticipated delivery of up to 5.3 million airline seats per year, expected to generate almost $4 billion in overnight visitor expenditure to Queensland.
Queensland Tourism Council CEO Brett Fraser said it had been “fantastic to welcome back more international guests to Queensland”.
“Seasonal flights can be a shot in the arm for the tourism industry and we hope to see an influx of visitors during the Chinese New Year travel period,” he said.
“Expanding international flight routes is critical in attracting guests to Queensland and putting our state on the radar of would-be travellers.
“Re-establishing and strengthening the connection between China and Queensland is vital to our long-term tourism success.”