Australia's Queensland welcomes more direct flights between Brisbane, China's major cities

SYDNEY, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Queensland state would have more direct flights connecting its capital Brisbane and China's major cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, with increased services by Chinese airlines, the state government has announced.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Queensland government noted that from Oct. 29, China Eastern Airlines would fly non-stop to Brisbane Airport three times a week, with the flights grown to five times a week within three years.

According to the statement, China Eastern Airlines is expected to land almost 41,000 seats in Brisbane during the first year of operation.

"China Eastern Airlines will launch flights from Shanghai to Brisbane starting next month. That means thousands more visitors to the Sunshine State and a big boost for our tourism businesses and workers," said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

The announcement came only a day after the state government confirmed that China Southern Airlines is expanding direct Brisbane services from Guangzhou to daily from December to February.

The daily seasonal services would coincide with the traditional Chinese New Year peak travel season.

"It's fantastic to welcome back more international guests to Queensland," said Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Brett Fraser. "Seasonal flights can be a shot in the arm for the tourism industry and we hope to see an influx of visitors during the Chinese New Year travel period."

"Re-establishing and strengthening the connection between China and Queensland is vital to our long-term tourism success," Fraser added.

Data from the state government showed that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was Queensland's biggest tourism market with almost 500,000 visitors contributing 1.6 billion Australian dollars (approximately 1.03 billion U.S. dollars) to the state's economy each year.