Singapore Airlines is set to launch an additional fifth daily service to Perth, bringing tens of thousands of extra visitors a year to the State and boosting opportunities for the tourism industry and local economy.
Starting from June 1, Singapore Airlines, which is also the largest carrier of international passengers to the State, will operate the additional service into Perth.
The decision follows the McGowan Government’s proactive work last year to secure a $5 million three-year co-operative marketing deal with the airline, to promote Western Australia globally as a desirable holiday destination.
The $5 million agreement was made possible thanks to the State Government’s $12 million international marketing boost, announced last year, to attract more international visitors to WA, particularly from key South East Asian markets such as Singapore.
The new Singapore Airlines flight will operate using a 303-seat Airbus A350-900, with the additional daily flight to add just over 2,100 seats per week to Perth’s inbound market, or more than 110,000 seats per year.
Singapore is currently the State’s second largest international tourism market in terms of both visitor numbers and spend. For the year ending September 2019, WA had 107,600 visitors from Singapore who spent $269 million.
Singapore Airlines also carries a number of passengers from other countries to Perth, via Singapore. Most users of this connector service come from the United Kingdom, India and Japan which are all countries within WA’s top 10 international markets in terms of visitor numbers.
The additional flight will offer these visitors more seats and greater convenience when travelling to Western Australia.
The extra connectivity is the latest commitment made by Singapore Airlines to the Perth market which it has serviced for 53 years.
As stated by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:
“The McGowan Government’s proactive work to secure the $5 million co-operative marketing deal with Singapore Airlines has been instrumental in helping to build the demand that will underpin this new service.
“Today’s announcement is a significant new opportunity for tourism in WA and we welcome the confidence that Singapore Airlines has shown in our market by expanding its current service with this new daily flight.
“This important commitment will also help support tourism operators whose businesses may be impacted by the novel coronavirus and east coast bushfires.
“We very much value the long-standing and productive relationship we have with Singapore Airlines, who is our largest global partner.
“The extra capacity this service will provide allows us to expand our marketing partnership activities, not only in Singapore, but throughout all of Asia, the UK, Europe and North America.”
