Asian mission to fill breach
JAPANESE travel agents and wholesalers were as shocked and disappointed as the Cairns tourism industry when Qantas announced its cutbacks in direct flights to Cairns, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said yesterday.
With thousands of passengers booked and more working out holiday plans to Australia, the Qantas decision had taken the Japanese by surprise, she said on the eve of a five-day mission to Asia to try to entice new carriers to Cairns and Queensland.
Ms Boyle and TTNQ chief executive Rob Giason said Japanese wholesalers were working on alternative routes and flying options to ensure Japanese travellers could still make their way to Australia and primarily to Cairns.
Ms Boyle, Tourism Australia and Tourism Queensland representatives will meet representatives of a number of airlines, including Nippon, Japan, Continental Micronesia, Korea Air, Viva Macau and Cathay Pacific armed with $8 million from the State and Federal governments in a bid to get existing carriers to expand or lure new airlines.
Ms Boyle said while the global impact of rising oil prices was being felt everywhere, it had yet to hit Asian airlines as hard.
"They are still expanding their fleets and their routes," Ms Boyle said.
Of the $8 million, $6 million was designated towards incentives for new airlines while $2 million was earmarked for marketing.
Ms Boyle said she did not want to spend all the incentive money on one airline, but spread it among a number of operators who would be looking at short and long-term options.
A further sales trip to mainland China is also being planned but the time for this will depend largely on the availability of airline executives and impact of the Olympics.
Premier Anna Bligh met Jetstar CEO Alan Joyce yesterday in what she described as a "very productive meeting".
"It was a very productive meeting with Alan Joyce today, and we discussed the very tough time the airline industry is currently experiencing," Ms Bligh said.
"He confirmed Jetstar’s commitment to increasing services into Cairns from Tokyo and stressed that existing and any new domestic and international services needed to be supported by strong marketing campaigns.
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Shocked: Desley Boyle says Japanese tourism operators were disappointed at the axed flights.
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