Virgin starts service to bring back Japanese tourists
Virgin aims to start flying its first Cairns to Tokyo route by mid next year with a promise it would deliver 30,000 inbound passengers and $70 million to the local economy.
Virgin announces a new flight between Cairns and Tokyo
Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the daily Cairns-Haneda route would mean 2000 seats a week between the two destinations. It would start in June next year.
Virgin was also offering $699 return as a promotion for the new route. Flights on other airlines, including Qantas, are selling for more than $3000 return.
The route was initiated under the State Government’s Attracting Aviation fund which provided $200 million to subsidise new routes. The fund was jointly created by Queensland’s airports and the Government.
“We know the Japanese market is hugely important to trade and tourism in far north Queensland and the Sunshine State and our service will result in more international visitors arriving in Cairns every year, having a positive impact on the state’s economy,” Hrdlicka said.
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Government was excited to welcome back Japanese tourists.
He said the new service would support about 680 workers in the Cairns region.
The Virgin flights were in partnership with ANA.
An estimated 275,000 tourists from Japan visited Australia before Covid shut the industry in 2020 and spent about $1.5 billion. It was the fifth biggest source of tourists. In 2021 only 800 people came from Japan to Australia.
