Australian tourism representatives have adopted a united front to target China, with the signing of a $9 million cooperative marketing deal with China Southern Airlines.
The deal, signed by Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy and China Southern Airlines president Tan Wangeng in Guangzhou today, includes partnership agreements with Destination New South Wales, Tourism Western Australia and Tourism Victoria.
TA branded it a concerted move towards the use of "one voice" to market Australia internationally following last week's warning by chairman Geoff Dixon that failure to act collectively would create a fragmented and ineffective message (Travel Today, August 10).
China Southern also revealed today that Cairns would become its fifth Australian destination.
McEvoy said deepening ties with the airline would help raise Australia’s profile among China’s growing middle classes and grow awareness of the expanding services between the two countries.
“These agreements are strategically very significant with China Southern the largest airline in China and its Guangzhou base fast establishing itself as an important hub, the closest major mainland city in China to Australia,” he said.
He referred to China Southern’s large domestic network which will eventually connect up to 80 Chinese cities with Australia via Guangzhou.
“This hub and network strategy supports Tourism Australia’s own approach under the Tourism 2020 strategy of targeting the country’s rapidly emerging middle classes, focusing primarily on China’s primary cities, with steady expansion into more secondary cities over time."
