Wyndham City has welcomed AirAsia’s official launch of flights from Malaysia to Avalon Airport, with the milestone event presenting many opportunities to boost the local economy.
Wyndham City Mayor, Cr Peter Maynard, said Wyndham was represented at the launch by Director of Deals, Investment and Major Projects, Kate Roffey.
“Wyndham and Geelong make up one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Over the next 30 years the population of Melbourne’s West and Geelong is expected to grow from 835,000 to 1.8 million people,” Cr Maynard said.
“Having an international airport just 20 minutes from Wyndham will be a major boost to our local economy. It will be a catalyst for investment, jobs growth and tourism—all of which we welcome with open arms.”
“Wyndham has a lot to offer international visitors arriving at Avalon Airport. Our world-class tourist attractions like the Werribee Mansion, the Werribee Open Range Zoo and the Victoria State Rose Garden are all located a short drive from the airport and will benefit greatly from an influx of overseas travellers.”
“Having an international airport in our backyard will mean our City’s existing industries can capitalise on new investment opportunities, while there is excellent opportunities for new industries to be established in order to support this new international hub.”
“Almost 800,000 Jetstar passengers took off or landed at Avalon Airport last year alone. With AirAsia now officially launching international flights from Avalon, the potential for our region is limitless and Wyndham City is proud to be a part of it.”
Ms Roffey said she had the opportunity to speak with senior executives of Air Asia while in Kuala Lumpur.
“This is a really exciting development for Melbourne’s West. AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Ben Ismail told me that initial projections are for 500,000 inward and outward bound international passengers to travel through Avalon in the first year alone. Ben also indicated that Air Asia’s statistical analysis for future demand suggest that the number of daily flights, and in turn volume of passengers, would increase very rapidly as both Victorians and ASEAN travellers and business people take advantage of these direct flights into Avalon.” Ms Roffey said.
“When I asked Ben about the future growth of AirAsia X in Victoria, he noted that the focus would not only be on the well-established routes, but in opening up new opportunities as well. He noted that markets like Sri Lanka and the Maldives for examples, were largely untapped as yet and plans to provide easier and more direct access to these additional destinations from Avalon will not only appeal to those who live in the West, but to all Victorians.”
“In speaking with Brent Anderson from Tourism Australia and Jenny Na from Visit Victoria, who were also in Kuala Lumpur for the launch, it is clear there is a strong shift in the desire of visitors from South-East Asia to find niche and unique tourism experiences rather than just visit major city centres. This fits perfectly with Wyndham’s offerings.”
“There was particular interest in learning about our tourism precinct and having established some great connections direct with people on the ground in Asia we will continue to develop these partnerships going forward.”
AirAsia flights to Avalon Airport will commence from Wednesday 5th December, 2018.
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