The world’s largest aviation forum will head to Australia next year with Adelaide set to host the 25th annual World Aviation Routes conference.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the global trade event would see around 3,000 aviation professionals from 300 airlines, 700 airports and 130 tourism authorities gather to discuss and develop new aviation routes and strategies.
“This is a unique opportunity for Australia and also South Australia to take centre stage and have the biggest players in world aviation in our own backyard,” Minister Birmingham said.
“By hosting this conference, we’ll be front of mind when the biggest aviation companies have discussions about new air routes or expanding capacity on existing routes.
“Whilst international aviation capacity to Australia now exceeds 25 million seats per year, further increasing this capacity will only strengthen and help sustain our tourism industry in the long run.”
South Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment David Ridgway – who is in Guangzhou, China for the official handover – said the conference is expected to inject more than $20 million into the state’s visitor economy and would be an opportunity for South Australia to showcase why it is a growing destination of choice for international travellers.
“The more international travellers who fly into Adelaide, the better it is for local businesses and the local South Australian economy,” Minister Ridgway said.
“More flights into Adelaide means more people dining in our local restaurants and more people staying in our hotels.
“There have been good recent signs for SA with Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific and China Southern all putting on additional Adelaide services and Singapore Airlines also upgrading its Adelaide aircraft to the next-generation Airbus, but we need to keep the momentum going.”
A record more than one million international passengers passed through Adelaide Airport in the year to the end of June, 2018.
The 2018 World Routes event, which wraps up today in Guangzhou, saw 15 Australian aviation partners attend.
The World Routes 2019 conference will take place from 21 to 24 September and will be jointly hosted by the South Australian Tourism Commission, Adelaide Airport, the Adelaide Convention Bureau and Tourism Australia.