The Gold Coast’s $4.5 billion tourism industry has continued its positive momentum in 2012 with confirmation today that Scoot Airlines will fly five times a week from Singapore to the Gold Coast.
The announcement comes after months of collaboration between the new Singapore based airline and a cross-agency consortium of Gold Coast Tourism, Gold Coast Airport, Queensland Government, and Tourism Australia bosses.
Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer, Paul Donovan said the announcement is extremely exciting and further cements the Gold Coast’s status as an international travel destination of choice.
“This announcement reinforces the ever increasing appeal of the Gold Coast in the market and demonstrates the potential that organisations like Scoot Airlines see in the growth of the destination, providing approximately 104,000 new inbound seats per annum.”
“We are thrilled we will soon be welcoming Scoot Airlines into the Gold Coast and commend the airline on its decision to make the Gold Coast its second Australian base,” Donovan said.
Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said securing direct flights into the Gold Coast from South East Asia had been a key objective of the destination marketing organisation over the past couple of years.
“Access is vital in the international tourism market, and in our region there is no better access than to be directly connected to the global network which Singapore delivers,” he said.
“The Gold Coast has today achieved a new standing as an international destination with regular direct flights from the Asian hub of Singapore unlocking a massive network of access and promotional opportunities.”
“We welcome Scoot to the Gold Coast, just as we look forward to welcoming thousands of their passengers every week from across Asia to enjoy some famous Gold Coast fun.”
“Gold Coast Tourism has led the way in developing the Asian travel market over the past five years through dedicated resources, continuous marketing campaigns, and a relentless program of travel industry partnerships and education.”
“The benefits of that strategy have already made an impact with visitation from markets such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia consistently increasing and offsetting declines from more traditional source markets, now direct access out of Singapore will amplify that success.”