Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) in Queensland, Australia, has launched a new ‘China Strategy’, as part of its plan to increase its air services into Asia.
The initial focus of the plan would be to increase Brisbane Airport’s profile in the market as a competitive gateway to Australia.
BAC CEO and managing director Julieanne Alroe said: "Our approach means letting go of preconceived ideas about where Brisbane should sit in the mindset of the Chinese market.
"We want to build a compelling case for Chinese business, leisure and education visitors to choose Brisbane as their first port-of-call in Australia."
After leading the development of the strategy, BAC airline and retail management general manager Andrew Brodie will take charge of its implementation.
"The airport will be looking to help build Brisbane’s destination brand with consumers," said Brodie.
"At the same time, we are over-hauling our own facilities and services at the airport, delivering a sophisticated, only-in-Brisbane redevelopment of core parts of the international terminal and introducing special services for our Asian passengers.
"We will also be a strong advocate for Australian Government policy changes to better facilitate air capacity and Chinese outbound tourism to Australia, their experiences within the country and processes in airports."
BAC has already intiated actions from the strategy by appointing a Chinese liaison officer and Chinese cultural and customer service training for staff at the international terminal.
It has also launched a simplified Chinese version of the BNE App and is set to introduce a Chinese version of the website.
The planned strategies also include bilingual signage and messaging to increase interactive digital assets and applications, culturally appropriate food and beverage choices, in addition to special retail and tailored merchandise offers and discounts.
BAC senior executives will also pay regular visits to mainland China and attend key industry events and conferences to network and strengthen business relationships, as well as host Chinese delegations in Brisbane.
BAC noted that the strategy will remain a key priority over the next five to ten years.
