The flights will begin on May 2, and will be the first in this country serviced by the airline’s new state-of-the-art Airbus A350 .
“Tourism is the major economic driver in South Australia and Qatar Airways arrives in Adelaide at a time when tourists and business travellers are looking for even more travel options, as well as superior service levels that set new benchmarks,” Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said in a media statement.
Tourism Minister Leon Bignell and Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young also spruiked the announcement as a major boost to SA tourism.
Bignell said the daily flights were estimated to generate an extra $41 million* to the state’s economy through increased visitors.
“Qatar Airways flies to more than 140 destinations around the world and will provide Adelaide with flights from the Middle East, Europe, India and the east coast of the United States,” he said.
“Qatar is the richest country in the world per capita and this relationship will help boost our trade opportunities.”
Young said that as well as opening up a new link with the Middle East, the service would provide connections for SA travellers to other destinations such as Europe.
The airline’s statement announcing the expansion referred to Adelaide as “the cosmopolitan coastal capital of South Australia” and “home to renowned museums such as the Art Gallery of South Australia, displaying expansive collections including noted indigenous art, and the South Australian Museum, devoted to natural history”.
“Other attractions include the destination’s vibrant night life, pristine beaches and popular zoos with abundant wild life.”
Qatar also recently announced it would be launching daily flights between Doha and Sydney from March next year, with the new routes increasing its Australian capacity to 28 flights a week.
*The $41 million figure was calculated by the SA Tourism Commission using modelling to work out how many new passengers are likely to visit SA as a result of the additional flights and multiplying this by the current average spend per visitor to SA ($2010) according to Tourism Research Australia figures.
