Air China will begin flying direct from Beijing to Brisbane four times a week from December under a deal that the State Government hopes will put Sydney and Melbourne on notice.

A major coup for Queensland, the deal was reached under the Government’s $33.5 million Connecting with Asia fund in which it commits cash that is matched by organisations including the Brisbane Airport Corporation, Brisbane Marketing, Gold Coast Tourism, Tourism Events Queensland, Tourism Whitsundays and Tourism Australia.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was hoped the flights would bring up to 170,000 passengers to Queensland over the next four years.

She said the deal was worth at least $191 million to the state’s economy.

“We know the best way to grow tourism in Queensland is to secure more direct international flights,” she said.

“Securing flights from China’s capital city for the first time is a big coup for Queensland, opening up new opportunities to tap into this valuable market.”

Boosting efforts to secure more direct international routes, including new Chinese destinations, was a key point of the recent Future Brisbane series in The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.

The deal was secured during Tourism Minister Kate Jones’s trade mission to China last month.

Ms Jones said it would provide Queensland with a major advantage as it battles against Sydney and Melbourne for a share of the booming Chinese tourist market.

The flights will also be a bonus for Queensland businesses hoping to expand into China.

“China is Queensland’s largest international market, generating close to a fifth of Queensland’s total tourism expenditure, with visitors spending $1 billion over the past year,” Ms Jones said.

Federal Tourism Minister Steven Ciobo said the extra flights were crucial to increasing the Chinese tourism market in Australia, already worth about $10 billion a year to the country.

“With the potential to be worth up to $13 billion by the year 2020, it is crucial that Australia continues to strengthen its ties with China to help realise the full potential of this market,” he said.

The flights will arrive from Beijing at 3.10pm and depart Brisbane at 7.30pm, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, from December 11.

Air China vice president Wang Mingyuan said it was the first scheduled service operated by Air China to Queensland as well as the first service from Greater Northern China to Queensland.

Also, China’s Hainan Airlines will operate direct flights between Shenzhen and Cairns starting Dec. 19, according to the airline.

The Shenzhen-Cairns route will be the airline’s second direct flight to the Australian state of Queensland, following a Shenzhen-Brisbane route scheduled to launch Sept. 20. The new route is also the sixth direct route to Australia by Hainan Airlines.

The twice-weekly flight will operate using an Airbus A330 equipped with entertainment and food.

Located in northwestern Queensland, Cairns is a famous harbor city and an important gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

Source: The Courier Mail