The Gold Coast is set to welcome up to 2,000 additional international visitors a week after becoming the second Australian destination for fledgling carrier, Scoot.
Singapore Airlines’ low-cost off-shoot will launch the new five times weekly service between Singapore and the Gold Coast from June 12.
The deal is expected to inject up to $65 million per year into the local economy, according to state premier Anna Bligh.
“This is a multi-million blueprint partnership between government and industry which will open up overseas markets and support Queensland businesses and local jobs,” she said as she announced the deal this morning.
Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter said that securing direct flights into the Gold Coast from South East Asia had been a key objective of the tourism body.
He predicted that the new service would unlock a “massive network of access and promotional opportunities” for the region from emerging Asian markets.
Tourism Australia estimated that the Singapore market had the potential to grow between $2.3 billion and $2.8 billion in overnight spending by 2020.
“For Australia to take out the first two spots in Scoot’s rapidly expanding network is fantastic news for our industry, and for the Gold Coast which is already witnessing something of a tourism renaissance,”
He listed the “impressive” new hotel developments of last year, with more investment in the pipeline, boosted by last year’s 2018 Commonwealth Games award.
Scoot revealed in December that Sydney would be its first international port, a major coup for Australian tourism (Travel Today, December 1).
