- New Jetstar flights announced to the Gold Coast from Hamilton and Dunedin
- Flights on sale from today for services starting next June
- Carrying 68,000 extra international visitors into Queensland over three years
Flight deals encouraging New Zealand visitors to come to Queensland are set to roll out from Monday 16 September as new Jetstar flights are announced to the Gold Coast from Hamilton and Dunedin.
The flights will operate from both cities three times per week for three years, supported by the Queensland Government's Attracting Aviation Investment Fund and a marketing campaign delivered by Tourism and Events Queensland.
The extra services will deliver more than 174,000 inbound seats over three years, carrying nearly 68,000 extra international visitors, who will spend almost $100 million, supporting up to 320 jobs.
There has not been a Hamilton-Queensland connection or Dunedin-Queensland connection since March 2020.
The new services will both start from June, 2025 – 18 June from Dunedin and 24 June from Hamilton.
It's another win for the $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund which has now secured 38 international routes since February 2022.
The 38 services, mainly from markets such as Asia, North America, and New Zealand, are estimated to deliver more than 2.33 million inbound international seats, more than $2 billion in overnight visitor spending each year and support almost 24,000 Queensland jobs.
As stated by Tourism Minister Michael Healy:
"New Zealand travellers should snap up these deals while they can.
"What a win for New Zealand travellers who can now access these new, affordable, regular flights, allowing them to visit Queensland and explore this great state without blowing the budget.
"The new services will make Gold Coast Airport Australia's most connected to New Zealand, with more routes for visitors and students to arrive, with air freight heading back across the Tasman.
"Almost half a million kiwis crossed the ditch to visit Queensland in the year ending March 2024, setting a second consecutive visitor spending record with $821 million in overnight visitor expenditure."
As stated by Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully:
"Tourism is a key industry on the Gold Coast and the new agreement with Queensland Airports will support the growth of inbound tourism and provide a big boost to local operators.
"It's also great news for customers, with the new routes unlocking more than 115,000 new low fares seats a year between the Gold Coast and Hamilton and Dunedin, while helping to connect the city's large population of Kiwi ex-pats to their home country.
"We thank the Queensland Government and Queensland Airports for their ongoing support of low fares travel across the Sunshine State."
As stated by Queensland Airports Limited CEO Amelia Evans:
"Jetstar's new services between New Zealand and Gold Coast Airport offer greater connectivity and choice for customers, making air travel more accessible for Kiwis looking to holiday on the Gold Coast.
"New Zealand is Australia's largest international visitor market, so it makes sense for us to increase our Trans-Tasman connectivity. We're proud that we'll be Australia's most connected airport to New Zealand.
"These services are expected to deliver over 116,000 passengers annually to the Gold Coast, connecting the city to Dunedin for the first time and re-establishing the airport's first ever Tasman route, to Hamilton."
As stated by Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Patricia O'Callaghan:
"New Zealand is Queensland's number one international visitor market and to regain these key direct services is certainly gold for the Gold Coast.
"We have strong growth goals for New Zealand as we head towards 2032 and aviation access is key to that success.
"TEQ will deliver a marketing campaign in partnership with Jetstar to drive demand and ensure seats are full on these flights, in turn driving demand for the Gold Coast and greater Queensland's tourism experiences."
