China Southern Airlines Launches Its First Direct Flight To Mexico

China Southern Airlines, China’s largest airline in terms of passenger traffic has launched its new Guangzhou to Mexico City route, which will be serviced three times per week by 228-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The connection is the first operated by a domestic Chinese airline between China and Mexico, since Aeromexico already offers direct flight between the Mexican capital and Shanghai. As Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Salvador Sanchez said at the launch of the new China Southern Airlines route: “With the inauguration of the flight, we hope to see an increase in the number of Chinese visitors travelling for leisure, but also for business”.

In recent years, China has shown strong interest in tourism to Mexico and investment in the country. China’s ambassador to Mexico, Qiu Xiaoqi, said that China is now the second-largest trade partner for Mexico, which is considered by the Chinese as an important strategic partner in the Latin American region.

In 2016, Chinese tourist arrivals to Mexico grew at a year-on-year rate of 33.5%, representing a total of 74,300 visitors. As China and Mexico continue to deepen their bilateral ties, Mexico is hoping that the new connection will go some way to help it reach its expecting target of 100,000 Chinese visitors in 2017.

COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute provides expert insights into the worldwide developments of China’s outbound tourism market. As Chinese outbound tourists are travelling to a large range of destinations, our publications cover a number of regions, providing detailed insights and analysing visitor behaviour.

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Source: Voanews, Travel Daily Media, China Daily

Photo: flickr