ATC WELCOMES AUSTRALIAN AIRLINES

The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) today welcomed the announcement by Qantas that it would start a new international airline with a tourism focus in the second half of 2002.

Managing Director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said aviation access was one of the biggest issues facing tourism.

“This is one of the most significant announcements for the tourism industry in quite some time,” Mr Boundy said.

“Aviation is the lifeline of Australian tourism and the fact that we will have more direct services; more ports and a greater focus on tourism traffic is great news.

“There’s plenty of potential in Asia and Japan for the new airline. Asia and Japan presently account for 40 per cent of Australia’s inbound tourism business and this is forecast to grow to 50 per cent by 2010.

“The ATC will be working with Australian Airlines to make sure the planes are as full as possible,” Mr Boundy said