Destination NSW: Minister Meets with China Southern Airlines
31-Aug-2017 Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall has met with China Southern Airlines, one of the world's largest carriers servicing Sydney, to discuss the NSW Government's two year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
"The meeting was a great opportunity to discuss current partnerships, as well as future growth and potential further routes into our state to ensure NSW remains number one for international travellers," Mr Marshall said.
Mr Marshall said the strategic partnership aims to grow visitation from some of China's first-tier cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen and from cities throughout China via China Southern's network.
"The China Southern Airlines' services from Guangzhou and Shenzhen provide almost 310,000 seats to Sydney every year helping grow visitation from China, a key priority market for the State," Mr Marshall said.
"We are seeing significant growth from the aviation industry, with services such as China Southern Airlines providing the perfect opportunity to showcase our Harbour City and rural and regional NSW.
"Sydney is the first choice for Chinese tourists traveling to Australia, the next step is pitching our country charms to drive even more visitation into rural and regional NSW."
The NSW Government has invested in almost 70 campaigns in the China market of which 90 per cent feature the State's fantastic rural and regional NSW destinations and experiences.
In the year ended March 2017, there were 925,200 inbound seats to Sydney from China, up 28.1 per cent on the previous year.
China Southern Airlines currently operates flights twice daily from Guangzhou to Sydney and three direct services from Shenzhen to Sydney each week. During the Northern Winter peak period, China Southern Airlines will operate three daily services from Guangzhou to Sydney. China Southern Airlines will also up-gauge one daily services to its flagship A380 aircraft from 1 December 2017 until 28 February 2018.