More flights, more tourists for Queensland

The Palaszczuk Government has secured additional flights to attract more tourists and create more jobs for Queensland, with China Airlines to increase its Taipei-Brisbane service from four times per week to daily

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the extra flights, from December this year, would provide a $52 million boost for Queensland’s economy, deliver up to 50,000 extra passengers and support up to 400 Queensland jobs.

The Premier said the extra services, secured through the Palaszczuk Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund would deliver up to 50,000 extra passengers to Queensland over the next 12 months.

“Under my Government, we have secured new flights bringing more than 650,000 new seats to Queensland and injecting more than $700 million in our tourism economy,” she said.

“This is another vote of confidence to Queensland’s tourism industry and for jobs for Queenslanders.”

Tourism Minister Kate Jones said the additional flights were delivered in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), China Airlines, Brisbane Airport Corporation and other trade partners.

“Through the international aviation hub in Taipei, these extra services will open up additional access to other key markets including Japan, Korea, North America, Europe and the UK,” the Minister said.

“The Asian market is one of huge potential for Queensland’s tourism industry.”

“China Airlines is a global airline with an extensive international network and these additional flights will deliver crucial access into Queensland from Taiwan.”

The 2017-18 State Budget, released this week, delivered ongoing funding to continue to grow Queensland’s tourismindustry.

Ms Jones said this year’s Budget would help boost airline connections to Asia, promote destinations and foster talent for the industry’s future workforce.

“We know tourism has the potential to support thousands more jobs in Queensland,” she said.

“That’s why we are providing an extra $47 million in 2020-21 to extend our $400 million four-year funding guarantee to provide Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) with the funding certainty they need to grow visitation to Queensland.

“We are standing by our commitment as well as rolling out our four-year $33.5 million Advance Queensland: Connecting with Asia strategy.”

“The Palaszczuk Government has also moved quickly to provide funding for Tropical Cyclone Debbie recovery efforts, with more than $9 million for the tourism industry and small businesses.”

Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO and Managing Director Julieanne Alroe said the additional services would meet growing demand on the route.

“The Taiwanese visitor market to Brisbane has grown consistently in the last few years with 71,000 Taiwan arrivals recorded into Queensland over the last year,” Ms Alroe said.

The Attracting Aviation Investment Fund is a $10 million funding commitment by the Palaszczuk Government to support new or expanding airlines to bring more passengers to Queensland by securing greater international aviation access.

International tourists continue to flock to Queensland, with 2.6 million visitors pumping a record-breaking $5.2 billion into the State’s economy. The latest Tourism Research Australia data, released today, shows international visitation to Queensland increased by 6.8% in the year to March 2017. It reaffirms Queensland’s tourism industry is going strong with total visitor nights from overseas travellers increasing to 53.5 million, up 3.2%.

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