More Australians are heading our way — crossing the magic million mark, as tourists from across the Ditch head to Queenstown.
Qantas yesterday announced five additional flights from Australia into Queenstown over summer.
That should push the number of Australian visitors arriving and departing for the year over the million mark.
Between December 15 and January 26, the Australian airline will operate up to six flights per week from Melbourne to Queenstown — it operates four at present — and up to seven flights from Brisbane, which is three more than it now operates.
Additionally, it plans to operate up to six more flights between Sydney and Auckland, up to seven more between Sydney and Christchurch and up to five additional flights between Sydney and Wellington each week during that period.
There would also be up to five more flights between Melbourne and Auckland and up to three more between Melbourne and Christchurch.
In total, it equates to about 60,000 additional seats compared with the same period last year.
Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism chief executive Mat Woods said they had been focused on positioning the region as a world-class visitor destination for decades, and Australia was their most important international market.
"It’s great to see Qantas increasing its capacity directly into Queenstown Airport, adding to Queenstown’s appeal as a great place for our Australian neighbours to visit."
A Queenstown Airport spokeswoman said the additional flights would provide better connections and more options for local residents travelling for their summer holidays, and noted the resort continued to see "strong demand for transtasman flights, and more passengers per plane".
In the 12 months to February this year, 981,033 passengers travelled on flights between Queenstown and Australia.
Meanwhile, Queenstown Airport passenger statistics show it is already on track to have a record-breaking year.
In 2024, 2,566,584 passengers moved through the airport. In the first four months of this year, 921,539 passengers were recorded, compared with 898,610 for the same period last year.
