While the shock of Virgin Australia’s decision to shelve its Carins-Tokyo service next year is still sinking in, Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) chief, Mark Olsen, believes Japan will maintain a pivotal role in boosting its visitor economy for years to come.
The important route will come to end in February next year, and while Olsen conceded he was “disappointed” by the carrier’s decision, he declared Japanese tourists will continue to be a major source market for North Queensland.
“It is disappointing that market conditions in Japan have impacted the Haneda service, but Japan remains a key market for Tropical North Queensland, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to support inbound travel from Tokyo and Osaka,” he reaffirmed.
Olsen also explained to travelBulletin that significant resources had already been spent on attracting more Japanese visitors to the market, and those efforts were unlikely to be grounded any time soon, despite the recent body blow dealt by Virgin Australia.
“In addition to working with travel agency partners, we have hosted media and trade famils, completed in-market training and targeted consumers directly though social media and attendance at the Marine Diving Fair,” Olsen said.
“Through the International Tourism Recovery Program funding from the Federal Government, TTNQ has also rolled out numerous industry campaigns to drive demand on the Haneda service to Cairns.
“These delivered more than $5.6 million in direct sales, bringing over 10,600 passengers since the service began last year.”
Olsen added that TTNQ would continue to work closely with its partners to support inbound travel from Tokyo and Osaka.
Reflecting on its decision this week, VA claimed its hand was forced by the slow recovery of inbound visitors travelling from Japan, which remains 35% below pre-COVID levels.
“Withdrawing from Cairns-Tokyo services was a tough decision, but unfortunately the recovery of inbound visitors from Japan is significantly below forecast and therefore operating our own service to Tokyo is no longer commercially viable,” VA Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer, Alistair Hartley, said.
“We know this is disappointing news and we are sorry for the impact this decision will have on those guests booked to travel with us from 24 February 2025,” he added.
The carrier added that while the cessation of the Carins route was not ideal for its customers, they will continue to have access to up to 17 services each week between Australia and Japan via the airline’s partner, All Nippon Airways.
VA will re-deploy its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft currently operating Cairns-Tokyo services onto its existing domestic schedule.
