Bid for direct flights adds up

THE race to get more direct flights into Cairns has been given further momentum after new data revealed more than one million Far North-bound passengers came to the region via Brisbane Airport.

Cairns Airport aviation chief commercial officer Paul McLean said current economic conditions provided an opportunity for Cairns to welcome a majority of those passengers directly.

He had previously told the Cairns Post 75 per cent of international visitors through Cairns travelled on domestic flights, with the greatest numbers coming from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

“Southern Australian international gateways have grown rapidly from an increase in trade and travel over the past 10 years, driven primarily by the rise of the middle class in Asia,” Mr McLean said.

“Cairns has an opportunity to capture its fair share of this growth through the realisation of further direct services to the region.

“Increasing international services direct to Cairns will encourage international visitors to stay longer in the region and spend more while they are here.”

The latter point is an issue Travstar travel agency owner Kim Marsden agreed with.

“Direct flights to Cairns are vital for the region. One of the biggest problems international tourists have is they are time poor and if they have to fly into Brisbane and Sydney their time is lessened, and only end up spending two nights in Cairns,” she said.

“They don’t get to see any more than the Reef and the Kuranda train and Skyrail.

“They don’t see anything slightly different.

“Agents always recommend going to Cairns and if there is an option to fly direct, travellers will take that.”

Ms Marsden hoped the opening of the Crystalbrook Collection hotels, owned by Syrian Ghassan Aboud, would open up the market to Middle Eastern travellers.

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