Hong Kong upbeat ahead of Qantas rejig

Hong Kong upbeat ahead of Qantas rejig
By admin


Hong Kong's tourism board expects the restructure of Qantas's Asian network to deliver a boost to tourism, despite a reduction in stopover traffic as the carrier diverts its Kangaroo route via Dubai.

Hong Kong Tourism Board regional director, Andrew Clark, told Travel Today that the destination expects to benefit from Qantas' 40% increase in capacity to the destination, one in a series of regional network changes announced ahead of its proposed tie-up with Emirates.

"I'd like to think it's slightly positive," he said. "I'm thinking that they're going to have to be more focused on Asia as a destination rather than just being a stopover en route to Europe."

Clark expects to see a "more aggressive" promotion of Asian destinations by the airline in coming months and confirmed they are currently in talks regarding future cooperation.

"Hopefully we'll be rolling things out with them in the near future, but that's yet to be confirmed," he revealed.

The tourism body is already seeing success in its promotion of Hong Kong as a destination in its own right, Clark revealed.

Although Australian visitor numbers remained flat in 2012 year on year, the source market delivered a "significant" increase in length of stay and expenditure.

Aussies are now staying an average four nights in Hong Kong, and spending HK$9,500 putting them fourth after China, Russia and the UAE.

He also reported a rise in the number of people adding trips to neighbouring destinations to their stay, with more than 40% of travellers crossing the border into China and equal amounts heading for Macau.

"Beijing and Shanghai are also popular add-ons from Hong Kong with fantastic air connectivity into both of those cities," Clark said.

HKTB will launch its summer campaign at the end of April, featuring a mix of outdoor, digital and television advertising. It coincides with a "significant" campaign in partnership with Flight Centre which will be supported by additional promotional activity through similar media channels as well as through Flight Centre's retail stores and email marketing.

It will be followed by a winter campaign which will seek to promote November's Wine and Dine month, and Christmas shopping opportunities for those travelling through Hong Kong to Europe in the peak stopover month of December.

Latest News

  • Products

Embrace the journey: Traversing the world with the Shokz OpenRun

If you’ve been on the wrong side of a final call in the airport, or missed the stop on rail journey, it might be time to invest in a pair of Shokz OpenRun headphones. Originally marketed as headphones for fitness fanatics, runners or cyclists with a keen to steer clear of a prang with a car, […]

  • Tour Operators
  • Tourism

TTC: Deals are driving up demand for September trips

The latest market research from TTC Tour Brands shows interest in international leisure travel remains high for 2024, with 77 per cent of Australians over 18 still planning trips this year. Notably, 28 per cent of those travellers are eyeing September for their journeys. Europe continues to be the most popular destination, with 68 per […]

  • Aviation

Qantas ‘working urgently’ to fix app data leak

Qantas is looking into customer reports that passengers have this morning been able to access other passengers’ personal information on the airlines app. X user Lachlan posted that he was able log into different accounts every time he opened the app. My @Qantas app logs me in to a different person each time I open […]

  • Hotels

Revamped Wailoaloa Beach hotel opens as Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa

Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa is open and ready for bookings after the first phase of a multi-million-dollar transformation. Part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ premium collection, the transformation has seen the completion of 106 guestrooms showcasing contemporary interiors reflective of the premium Crowne Plaza brand and is a first for the […]

  • Luxury
  • News

Kamalaya Koh Samui clinches clutch of wellness awards

Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa has so far clinched five prestigious awards in 2024, including being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the World Spa & Wellness Awards in London. Founders of the Koh Samui sanctuary and spa John and Karina Stewart expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the awards. “We are profoundly honoured […]