International airline Emirates
has agreed to market South Australia as a tourist destination.
The first Emirates direct flight from Dubai arrived in Adelaide on Thursday
night, with the airline to operate four flights a week to SA over the next three
months before increasing to a daily service from February.
Premier Jay Weatherill said the arrival of Emirates would provide a significant
boost to the local economy, increasing tourism and business travel.
He signed a formal agreement with the airline on Friday to market South
Australia in Europe through a joint $2 million campaign to run for the next two
years.
"The economic impact of having daily flights from February next year is
estimated to bring $40 million in direct expenditure and more than 200 jobs over
the next two years," the premier said on Friday.
"This will make Adelaide a one-stop destination for businesspeople in many more
cities around the world, such as Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, New York and
Washington.
"It will make it easier for investors to travel to Adelaide."
With Emirates services from Adelaide travelling through Dubai, South Australia
gets its first direct connection with the Middle East, an important factor for
growing the state's oil and gas industry, Mr Weatherill said.
Emirates senior vice president Salem Obaidalla said the airline was committed to
promoting Adelaide to its global network of more than 120 destinations across
six continents.
"South Australia has never had this level of connectivity into Europe, the
Middle East and Africa," he said.
"The early booking profiles demonstrate the power of Emirates' global network in
unlocking previously untapped markets such as Glasgow, Hamburg and our hub,
Dubai."
Emirates will fly Boeing 777-300ER aircraft into Adelaide with local jobs
available in airline and airport services.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said the new service would be
popular with European travellers, providing direct access to Adelaide and the
state's wineries, events and other tourism attractions.
"Emirates has a long association with Australia and is one of our most committed
airline partners when it comes to marketing our country overseas," Mr McEvoy
said.