Queensland welcomes direct China flights

Queensland has sealed an agreement to promote tourist arrivals from China in preparation for the first direct flights from that country. China Southern Airlines will start operating three flights per week between Guangzhou and Brisbane in November, adding 3,600 seats into Queensland per month.
Tourism Queensland has committed A$400,000 (US$393,448) as part of the deal.
Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said, "Over the past few months, Tourism Queensland has undertaken a marketing and promotional blitz to encourage more Chinese visitors to fly direct to Queensland."
He said China was one of Queensland’s most important tourism markets, with 158,000 Chinese visitors in the year to June, up 14% on the year before.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that until now, Chinese visitors have had to transit through Sydney or Melbourne to get to Queensland.