January 27, 2023 | 19:11 (GMT+7)
Australia’s Victoria state pins hope on Vietjet’s launch of flights
Minister for Trade and Investment of Victoria state of Australia Tim Pallas has announced Vietnamese carrier Vietjet’s decision to choose Melbourne city as the destination for its first flights to Australia and establish its office in the state.
Pallas said the presence of a carrier from Southeast Asia is a victory of Victoria state’s economy and brings job opportunities to the locality, reflecting the state’s tourism and export strengths.
VietJet will run three direct weekly flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne airport from April and will develop it into a daily service in December 2024. Its flights are expected to bring more than 136,000 passengers to Melbourne each year and add 97 million USD annually to the state's economy.
VietJet will be the second Vietnamese airline to operate flights to Melbourne since after the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Vietnam's new-generation Bamboo Airways also launched the service in April 2022.
Vietnam is now the ninth largest importer of Victoria state, with 113 million AUD (80.5 million USD) worth of Australian goods transported via airway during 2021-2022, up 77% compared to 2020-2021.
Victoria state is also a popular tourist and study destination for Vietnamese. About 9,500 Vietnamese students are currently studying at its educational institutions. Before the pandemic, about 53,500 Vietnamese visitors arrived in Victoria, or nearly half of all Vietnamese arrivals in Australia in 2019.
Source: VNA