Airline and airport decision makers from around the world will descend on Adelaide this month for Routes Asia 2010.
The international aviation networking forum, hosted by Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL), the Adelaide Convention Bureau (formerly ACTA) and the South Australian Government, will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from April 18 to 20, 2010.
It will be the first time Routes Asia has been held in Australia, and will attract representatives from across the Asian region. The event has also attracted the interest of some of the world’s largest airports and airlines from Europe and North America.
AAL Managing Director, Phil Baker, says registrations by both airlines and airports are up more than 50 per cent on last year’s event, and there has been particularly strong interest from Chinese aviation representatives.
“The key aim of Routes Asia is to give airlines, airports and tourism authorities the opportunity to meet to discuss new markets and route recovery programs at pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings,” Mr Baker says.
“Australia, and particularly South Australia, has grown significantly as a major business and tourism destination for the Asian market, and so I’m not surprised at the level of interest from international airlines and airports.
“We see Asian destinations as providing the greatest potential for expansion of non-stop services to and from Adelaide, and we’ll be keen to demonstrate our ability to cater for increased capacity.”
South Australian Minister for Tourism, John Rau, says Routes Asia provides a great platform to showcase Adelaide’s potential as a gateway for new air services to Australia and the growth of existing services.
“South Australia is working hard to increase inbound tourism and attracting greater numbers of non-stop international flights clearly makes our state a more attractive destination for potential overseas visitors,” Mr Rau says.
“This forum presents us with a great opportunity to put our case directly to decision makers from international airlines across the Asian region.”
Routes Asia will see the arrival of the event’s first ever Routes Exchange Chalet, where selected airlines will brief selected airports on their future network requirements.
Routes Asia is also the first Routes event where each airline has supplied a list of requirements for their meetings, including what regions and markets they are hoping to meet and for what purpose. This will help all delegates to better manage their meeting schedule and get the maximum benefit from the event.
South Australian Industry and Trade Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, says more airlines operating into and out of Adelaide Airport will create jobs and training opportunities, and will make Adelaide more competitive with other capital cities as a holiday and trade destination.
