Australia's premium gateway upgrades facilities as visitors from China increase

The world's gateway to Australia - Sydney Airport - receives 40 percent of all international traffic arriving in the country and its links with Chinese business and tourism travel are strengthening by the day.

"Sydney Airport will become the world's largest long-haul destination from China," predicted Kerrie Mather, the airport's managing director and CEO. The latest figures bear her out, showing that the number of visitors from China was up by 13.5 percent in September this year, and has risen by 15.8 percent since the beginning of 2015.

Mather said some of this is due to the favorably low Australian dollar, which is making the country more attractive to travelers and businessmen alike. She said Sydney Airport's upgrading of already strong China links is another factor.

"Currently, we have four Chinese mainland airlines (Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and Sichuan Airlines) serving five Chinese hubs," said Mather. "By the end of this year, we expect to have five airlines serving seven or more mainland cities."

Mather has met representatives of these airlines to discuss how the airport can create a better experience for Chinese visitors, in the midst of its current investment program in which more than $800 million will be spent on airfield and terminal improvements during the next five years.

"We have a China-ready strategy to cater to this important market," she said. "For example, we are putting in more Mandarin-speaking 'Airport Ambassadors' to assist visitors, providing real-time information through tablet and smartphone apps as well as airport signage in simplified Chinese and even offering UnionPay support at our airport retailers."

Sydney Airport's proximity to the visitor magnet that is Sydney, with its central business district only 8 kilometers away, and the airport's development of two new hotels onsite has further enhanced the complex's attractiveness as an Australian gateway for Chinese travel. The airport even sponsors Sydney's annual Chinese New Year celebration - believed to be the world's largest held outside China.

"China is our fastest growing international visitor market, and the Chinese have grown to become the largest nationality market for Sydney Airport this year," Mather said. As most Chinese visitors' first taste of Australia, it can't afford to cause anything less than a superlative first impression.

www.sydneyairport.com.au

World Eye Reports provided the story