Gold Coast to be focus in next generation of Hong Kong travel says tourism kingpin Lanny Leung

ONE of Hong Kong’s most prominent travel agents says the Gold Coast is the centrepiece of a new campaign to appeal to a growing market of young Asian travellers.

A Hong Kong Airlines flight arrives on the Gold Coast. Picture Mike Batterham

ONE of Hong Kong’s most prominent travel agents says the Gold Coast will be the centrepiece of a new campaign to appeal to a growing market of young Asian travellers.

Wing On Travel CEO Lanny Leung said that in the past the Gold Coast had taken a back seat to Europe as a preferred destination for Hong Kong travellers.

But Ms Leung says the advent of direct flights this year has made it more affordable for people from Hong Kong and southern China to visit and predicts the city will unlock a new demographic in the Asian tourism market come November.

A Hong Kong Airlines flight arrives on the Gold Coast. Photo: Mike Batterham

“More younger people can afford the fare, more younger people will come,” she said.

“If we are to focus on those younger people we have to experience something new for them to stay for a few days.

“Hong Kong is quite a mature market — they have travelled quite a lot of places. But this is the right time since we’ve had direct flights and more capacity provided.

“Asia they have travelled many times, Singapore they have travelled many times, Japan, Korea.

“They are looking for something quite new in the market. Many people haven’t been to the Gold Coast yet.”

Hong Kong’s Temple Steet night market.

The CEO of Hong Kong’s most established travel agency visited the Gold Coast this week with colleagues and competitors from Asia as part of a Tourism and Events Queensland to showcase the jewels in the State’s tourism crown to industry insiders tasked with devising itineraries for Asian guests.

“They can live these experiences and share with their extensive networks in Hong Kong and across Asia, ultimately inspiring more visitors to come to the Gold Coast and Queensland,” Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Leanne Coddington said.

“This then links back to the triangular Hong Kong Airlines service between Hong Kong, the Gold Coast and Cairns which provides fantastic connectivity to mainland China and other parts of Asia.”

Up until July 2016, capacity aboard direct flights to the Gold Coast from China and Hong Kong has reached a whopping 40,588 seats with more flights set to be put on later this year.

Gold Coast Tourism International Marketing director Gordon Price said direct flights from Hong Kong had been particularly successful since introduced this year.

“The direct flights have proven to be a success, with loading consistently performing well, and we expect this outcome to be sustained with the support of both the Hong Kong and mainland markets,” he said.

A Hong Kong Airlines’ Airbus A330.

“The collaboration by Gold Coast Tourism, Gold Coast Airports Limited, Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia to secure this service has paid significant dividends for the Gold Coast.”

Wing On CEO Lanny Leung said the only challenge to attracting young people was identifying the Coast’s key attractions (like theme parks) and adapting to market these items through travel agency itineraries.

“Ten years ago when I came here, all the itineraries were very traditional but today … there are some very new experiences I have found,” she said.

“We have to diversify.”