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An increase in Chinese tourists visiting South Australia has boosted Adelaide Airport pass the one million international passenger milestone for the first time.
During June 2018, an additional 52,500 international passengers travelled to and from Adelaide; an increase of 5.5 per cent on the previous year.
The Chinese market has been the biggest inbound increase for the Airport, with an additional 11,000 Chinese tourists arriving over the past year.
The largest increase in outbound passenger numbers was in the Fiji market, with 8,000 more South Aussies using the new and direct Fiji Airways service to Nadi.
Direct flights out of Adelaide increased to Doha (Qatar Airways), Guangzhou (China Southern), Singapore (Singapore Airlines), Bali (Jetstar) and Auckland (Air New Zealand).
The one million passenger milestone comes after the Airport announced a $165 million expansion and redevelopment of the main terminal.
Due for completion in 2021, the project is the largest upgrade at the airport since the existing terminal was opened in 2005.
Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young says the strong growth positions the airport as a major international travel facility.
"Not only are we attracting new airlines travelling to new destinations, our existing airline partners are increasing services to cater for the demand," says Young.
"Since privatisation in 1998, our international passenger numbers have more than quadrupled. The number of international destinations has increased from 4 to 9 over the same period, which in turn has created one-stop connections with more than 300 cities around the globe."
"We continue to work hard to attract new airlines flying to new locations, and the US west coast is very much on our radar."
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Business News Australia
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