Australian carrier Jetstar to enter China

The Melbourne-based cheap flights provider Jetstar Airways said it will enter the Chinese market at the end of this year encouraged by the fast growing Chinese visitors in recent years.

Jetstar said four weekly flights between Singapore and Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, will take off on December 16, reports Xinhua. It also plans to boost the current capacity from Singapore by 46 percent in the next 12 months by adding three Airbus A320 jetliners. So far, low cost flights in mainland China are mostly for domestic trips. 166,300 Chinese visited Australia in the first four months this year, up six percent year on year. In 2008, 356,000 Chinese spent over US$ 1.8 billion in the country, making China as one of the top source countries of Australia. According to Tourism Northern Territory Australia, holiday, business and education are the top three purposes for the Chinese visitors. Also, its China Market Development Plan reveals most Chinese like to explore local foods, enjoy the beaches and do some shopping during the stay. It says one million Chinese visitors are expected by 2016. However, the recent fray between the two countries over the Rio Tinto case and the global recession have seriously affected the prosperous tourism industry. Xinhua reports Australia visa applications dropped by 80 percent in the past three months.