AirAsia X has insisted that its contribution to the Australian tourism industry is “positive”, with the number of passengers that it brings in to Australia far outnumbering the number of Aussies that it takes out.
Marketing manager Australia Stuart Myerscough told Travel Today the airline often came under fire from local tourism operators for enticing Australians overseas with cheap airfares. The reality was that the carrier supported Australian tourism by carrying high numbers of inbound visitors from Asian markets, he explained.
“The number of Chinese and Malaysians that travel with us to Australia is huge,” Myerscough said. “We’re bringing in more foreigners than we are taking out Australians.”
But he admitted the number of Australians travelling with the airline to Asia was rising. “Australia is an incredibly important market for us – it’s up there in the top couple of markets,” he said.
Myerscough confirmed that while there were “definitely” plans to grow its Australian network, bedding down existing ports and the new Sydney-Kuala Lumpur services would be the priority for 2012.
“There will be no foreseeable growth in ports for the next six to 12 months at least,” he said. However, increasing frequencies on existing routes was high on the agenda, he added.
Meanwhile, AirAsia X will set about marketing the airline to the Sydney market with “all guns blazing,” according to Myerscough.
He insisted he was confident that the airline would achieve good brand awareness in the NSW capital based on success in other Australian markets.
