ROUTES ASIA Manila
Okinawa next to host Routes Asia
Okinawa will be the first Japanese destination to host a Routes Asia event when it does so next year. The subtropical island will play
host from March 19-22, 2017, having officially taken over from Manila in the Philippines following a handover ceremony on the last day of this year’s event. A total of 900 delegates from 110 airlines and 220 airports attended. It is hoped next year’s event, hosted by Okinawa Prefecture and supported by Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, will prove just as popular. Japan has a population of 120 million people and 110 million air passengers annually. Okinawa attracts more than 7 million tourists a year, while infrastructure investment should increase this. Naha Airport is carrying out
terminal expansion works with a second runway being built by 2020 as it seeks to become the gateway between Asia and Japan. Meanwhile, Ishigaki Airport was replaced by New Ishigaki Airport in 2013 with a longer runway. Flight times between Okinawa and most east-Asian cities are within four hours, making it relatively easy to travel to. Direct flights are available from Beijing, Tokyo, Osaka, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai. Katie Bland, director of Routes,
said: “As the first Routes Asia to be held in Japan, Okinawa will bring Routes to a new and growing market.”
Brisbane will host Routes Asia 2018
Boost for Brisbane as it eyes more visitors
Brisbane will host Routes Asia 2018 as the Queensland capital seeks to boost visitor numbers. More than 22 million passengers used Brisbane Airport in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%, while international passenger numbers grew by 4.8%.
During the same period, the Chinese market was boosted by 27.5% thanks to a record number of visitors attending Chinese New Year
Chinese carriers in low-cost alliance
In the latest innovative move of continued Chinese airline growth, HNA Group has built on the synergies within its company portfolio to launch the world’s first low-cost carrier (LCC) alliance. The U-FLY alliance brings together three of the group’s regional
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in the city in February 2015, while the Corroboree Greater China events also proved to be a draw on the market. It meant China topped the list of
Brisbane Airport’s top five growth markets, followed by Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The facility is also working hard to
ensure more visitors can be welcomed. The New Parallel Runway should be completed in 2020 at a cost of
businesses in China, etablishing a combined network of 85 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region with a total of 168 city pair options. Hong Kong-based HK Express is taking a leading role in the formation of the new grouping, which works to make travel more affordable and accessible. It will be joined in U-FLY by Kunming-based Lucky Air, Urumqi-based Urumqi Air and Chongqing-based West Air, while others could follow in the future. Speaking on the sidelines of the
Routes Asia Strategy Summit, Andrew Cowen, CEO of HK Express and head of the U-FLY Alliance, said: “With the
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