Hong Kong airline to promote Australia in North Asia

Passengers on Cathay Pacific planes will be seduced with images of Australia on the in flight entertainment as part of a new $2 million marketing deal.

Passengers on Cathay Pacific planes will be seduced with images of Australia on the in flight entertainment as part of a new $2 million marketing deal.

Tourism Australia has teamed up with the Hong Kong-based carrier to promote the country to key markets throughout North Asia including China and Japan.

Captive audience … the in-flight entertainment on Cathay Pacific flights will soon feature Australian tourism campaigns.

In the year to October, Chinese visitors to Australia grew an incredible 29 per cent compared with the previous 12-months, to 805,400.

The figures have travel forecasters tipping China will overtake New Zealand as our biggest source of visitors within four years.

By 2020, more than 1.5 million Chinese are expected to visit Australia providing a $13 billion boost to the economy.

TA Managing Director John Oโ€™Sullivan said the multi-market deal with Cathay Pacific was the first time they had partnered with the airline.

โ€œCathay Pacific is one of the worldโ€™s most respected airlines and an aviation partner weโ€™re very keen to work with, especially given the strength of their footprint within North Asia,โ€ said Mr Oโ€™Sullivan.

โ€œThe deal provides a strong platform to further grow inbound tourism from some of Australiaโ€™s most important inbound visitor markets.โ€

A key feature of the partnership will see Cathay Pacific fly 200 North Asian travel agents to this weekโ€™s international trade event on Hamilton Island, Corroboree Greater China.

During their stay, delegates will take part in a three-day workshop followed by a day exploring the Great Barrier Reef and tourism attractions of the Whitsundays.

Tourism Australia currently has more than 20 marketing deals with international airlines to help increase aviation capacity down under and promote new routes.

Some of the other โ€œpartnersโ€ include Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air New Zealand, Air Canada, AirAsia X, Delta and Malaysia Airlines.

Qantas dramatically ended its $50 million partnership with TA in late 2012, after CEO Alan Joyce accused the organizationโ€™s chairman Geoff Dixon of trying to sabotage the airline.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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