THE announcement of a new air service between Mildura and Sydney is integral to boosting Sunraysia’s tourism market, according to Mildura Regional Development (MRD).
QantasLink unveiled plans on Monday to launch the region’s only direct flight connection to Sydney, which is forecast to inject more than $3 million into the economy.
MRD chief executive officer Brett Millington said the new route would put the region back on the map as an accessible, tourist hotspot for visitors.
“Three million dollars would be a great input … there is no doubt about that,” Mr Millington said.
“It will be a significant boost.
“It is an exciting announcement to reinforce the messages we’ve been delivering about Mildura and the region more broadly for a while now is that there is a real vibrancy in our community.
“Despite the fact we are in such a dry spell, there are still lots of people who want to visit our region and this flight path will enable that tourism market to embrace the region.”
The Sydney service will operate four days per week from March next year with its 74-seat Q400 turboprop aircraft and will save Mildura passengers from detouring via Melbourne.
Economic development councillor Mark Eckel said the QantasLink route had been in negotiation for several years, but the conversation intensified after Regional Express (REX) abandoned its Mildura-Sydney service.
“The main aspect that will make this route more popular than the REX flights are the better departure times, especially from a corporate perspective,” he said.
“It will really strengthen our region’s corporate relationship with businesses in Sydney, along with connecting residents with relatives and family interstate.”
QantasLink chief executive officer John Gissing vowed to support tourism across regional Victoria and recognised Mildura as a “popular destination”.
“Together with the Mildura Rural City Council, we’re promoting the greater Mildura region to travellers across Australia and the world as a great destination to visit,” he said.
“Mildura has a rich history and is home to some of Australia’s finest produce and wineries and we know it will be a popular destin¬ation for holiday makers as well.”
Mr Millington planned to meet Mildura Airport officials on Monday to discuss and investigate potential opportunities to create more partnerships.
“Some of the questions we will be brainstorming answers on are what that welcome looks like when entering Mildura,” he said.
“We’ll discuss a few concepts, particularly around acknowledging indigenous people within our community in that welcome and certainly using the resources that are already there … whether that is the video screens or artwork.”
