Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall today announced the first NSW Government partnership with Capital Airlines following a meeting with company executives in Beijing.
30 August 2017Destination NSW will work with Capital Airlines and travel trade partners to develop and promote itineraries that encourage Chinese visitors to spend time in both Sydney and rural and regional NSW.
“It was a pleasure to meet with the Capital Airlines representatives and to have secured the expanded partnership on behalf of the Government further boosting our State’s tourism industry and economy,” Mr Marshall said.
“The aviation industry is a key player in turbocharging tourism growth in Sydney and throughout rural and regional NSW, particularly from China, which is the largest international inbound visitor market to the State and one that is continuing to grow.
“Through strategic partnerships we are creating increased opportunities for Chinese visitors to head beyond the fringes of the city and into rural and regional NSW.”
Key opportunities discussed with Capital Airlines included broader travel packaging into rural and regional NSW, the Vivid Sydney Festival and an inaugural partnership campaign with the travel trade in Qingdao.
Capital Airlines, founded by the HNA Group, will commence three weekly services to Sydney commencing on 29 October from Qingdao, a city of more than nine million people located in the Shandong Province on China’s east coast.
There were 700,500 visitors in total to NSW from China in the year ended March 2017, up 14.4% on prior year.
As part of the NSW Government’s mission to China, Mr Marshall has also been meeting with key travel industry partners to explore ways to expand the extensive trade partnerships Destination NSW has in place.
Download a PDF version of this media release (PDF 171 kb)
