Melbourne International Airport has the ambition of turning into the main air gateway for Chinese travellers coming into Australia. The airport’s company is now working on strategies to attract more Chinese air carriers.
MELBOURNE- The continuous influx of tourists and goods from China during the last couple of years has prompted Australian authorities to develop its aviation industry and transport infrastructure to meet the booming demand.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Chris Woodruff, chief executive officer of Melbourne International Airport, said they are getting ready to make the city’s main airport to be the Australian gateway for the fast-growing Chinese market.
Melbourne Airport has seen exponential passenger growth since it opened in 1970. Last year, more than 29 million people passed through the airport, including 7 million international passengers. Official statistics show that arrival of Chinese nationals, tourists and businessmen, at Melbourne Airport grew by 20 percent annually during the past several years.
“We are taking the China market seriously. In fact, China has now overtaken the United Kingdom as our second most important country of origin for visitors, after New Zealand. Obviously China will be Australia’s fastest-growing market in the next decade, so we are preparing ourselves to be the Australian gateway for all Chinese airlines flying to or from China,” Woodruff said.
Woodruff, who is on his way to China, declared that Australia has natural resources that China needs for development while Australia imports a lot of goods from China. “it is then quite important that we are connected directly by air,” Woodruff said, adding that he is extremely optimistic about the growth potentials in the travel industry because both countries are investing a lot of time, effort and energy in this relationship.
In order to attract more Chinese tourists and help them find their way in the terminal, the Melbourne Airport now have signs and announcements in Mandarin while the staff are trained to better understand the needs of Chinese visitors.
Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in February at the Asia Pacific Aviation/Aerospace Leaders Summit that airports in Australia need at least AU$ 13 billion (US$ 13.41 billion) over the next decade to cope with increased demand from airlines and to reduce congestion.
Aside from being Australia’s capital of arts, culture and fashion, Melbourne is also the home to some major world sporting events, including the Australian Formula One Grand Prix and the Australian grand slam tennis and Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Woodruff said that another important aspect of the Melbourne airport is that it operates 24 hours a day and the passengers can arrive and depart throughout the day and night which is not true in other Australian airports.
Woodruff said that in its bid to capture the big market of China’s southern belly, the Melbourne Airport has established a ” sister airport” relationship with Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in 2012.
“Chengdu is a city of 13 million people and its surrounding population is more than 50 million, that’s twice size as Australia. Sichuan province is the focal point of China’s five-year plan. This region is going to be very important. That is why Australia, especially Melbourne, has to connect directly with Sichuan in the next couple of years,” Woodruff said.
The two airports will share technical, marketing and commercial information and establish staff or personnel exchanges.
Only four Chinese carriers currently offer flights to the capital of Victoria providing 107 monthly frequencies to Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai Pudong, far behind Sydney which remains the best connected city to China with 166 monthly frequencies to four Chinese cities. Five Australian cities are now connected to China.
(Source: Xinhua)
Table: Air capacities between Australia and China, April 2013
|
Airline |
Orig |
Dest |
Flights |
Seats |
|
3U |
MEL |
CTU |
13 |
3 185 |
|
CA |
MEL |
PVG |
21 |
5 250 |
|
CA |
SYD |
PEK |
22 |
5 500 |
|
CA |
SYD |
PVG |
17 |
4 250 |
|
CZ |
BNE |
CAN |
18 |
3 906 |
|
CZ |
MEL |
CAN |
43 |
11 051 |
|
CZ |
PER |
CAN |
12 |
2 604 |
|
CZ |
SYD |
CAN |
60 |
16 590 |
|
MU |
CNS |
PVG |
8 |
1 928 |
|
MU |
MEL |
PVG |
30 |
7 230 |
|
MU |
SYD |
NKG |
12 |
3 576 |
|
MU |
SYD |
PVG |
37 |
8 917 |
|
QF |
SYD |
PVG |
30 |
8 910 |
|
TOTAL |
323 |
82 897 |
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
