Welcome back China Southern

IT’S imperative that Far Northern travellers support the direct services operated by China Southern and Hainan airlines from mainland China.

China Southern resumes flights today after a two-month hiatus due to the lack of aircraft.

The aim of the non-stop services is to get Chinese tourists to the region faster and easier.

What might not be appreciated by holiday-makers is that the non-stop service, about seven hours from Guangzhou, means they don’t need to stop over elsewhere or fly into a southern port in Australia before heading north on a domestic service.

Previously some Chinese tourists were taking 30 hours to reach Cairns.

It’s clear the Chinese want to come to Cairns, especially to visit the Great Barrier Reef.

They are now our biggest source of tourists.

But it’s not a one-way street. The carriers need people and freight on the return legs too.

Anecdotally there have been many empty seats on the Hainan return service to Shenzhen with some passengers having the luxury of sleeping across a row of four seats.

Groups of Chinese travel agents have been travelling to the tropics to see first hand what the region offers their customers.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland has appointed a marketing agent in China.

Next month this newspaper will join a group from the Far North to travel to Guangzhou to see first hand what the destination offers.

Far Northern travellers should broaden their horizons and also visit the two major destinations and see both modern and traditional China to support the two airlines which are backing our tourism industry.