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Hainan Airlines A330 aircraft from Changsha lands at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 13, 2016. China's Hainan Airlines new service from Changsha, capital of central-south China's Hunan Province, touched down for the first time at Sydney Airport on Tuesday, marking a new route for the airport. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye)
SYDNEY, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A promotional partnership between China's Hainan Airlines and the New South Wales state government which kick started on Tuesday will see the airline flying in about 52,000 Chinese tourist annually from China's Changsha and Xi'an in a new twice-weekly flight service.
NSW minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said in a statement partnering with one of China's largest airlines was part of the state's continuing effort to entice more Chinese tourists which was up 21 percent in the first six months of the year.
"Tourists from China are voting with their feet, coming to NSW in ever larger numbers to experience the magic of regional food and wine, our magnificent beaches, major events and explore our Aboriginal heritage," Ayres said.
"Investing in new aviation services is proving to increase visitation from second and third tier cities and make travel from other major Chinese cities to Sydney and Regional NSW more accessible than ever."
"Changsha and Xi'an are hugely important growth markets for NSW and now more tourists will learn about the direct way to get to Sydney and enjoy this great state," he said.
A recent survey by the Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) also revealed that the number of Chinese tourist were now leading the way in terms of tourist arrivals into Australia with an annual growth rate of above 20 percent.
CommSec chief economics Craig James said in the past year a record number of 1.2 million tourists came to Australia from China, up 24.1 percent from the previous year.
