|
Government to pay airlines to come to QLD |
|
The Queensland
State Government has announced a plan to underwrite flights to Queensland tourist
destinations to compensate for domestic flight cuts by the major airlines with
a $4 million rescue package.
Both
domestic and international flights could be underwritten, but the emphasis will
be on international flights. Decisions will have to be made on how the flights
are subsidised, and for how long.
Tourism Minister and member
for Cairns, Desley Boyle has been working on developing
an aggressive strategy to rescue Queensland
tourism, which has been rocked by Qantas' decision to cut services from Japan to Cairns
and Brisbane due to rising fuel costs and declining passenger numbers. Among
the routes cancelled in June 2008 was Jetstar's Sydney to Proserpine route. The route is now
only served by Virgin Blue, which is understood to also be considering cuts to
services.
The number of Japanese
tourists coming to Queensland
has been in decline for several years, plunging 13.5 per cent since 2007,
according to figures released last Friday. However, the slump in Japanese
tourists has been offset by an increase in Chinese visitors, up 29.4 per cent
in the 12 months to March 2008.
According to Ms Boyle , "While
the north of the state has worn the brunt of these recent airline
announcements, these are decisions that are affecting the entire state tourism
industry including the Whitsundays and the Gold and Sunshine coasts."
|
