OREANDA-NEWS. July 04, 2012. Qatar Airways has embarked on a USD 1.2million (USD 1.2 million) joint tourism promotional campaign with the Government of Western Australia to coincide with the launch of the airline’s new flights to Perth.

The two-year agreement involves Qatar Airways and Tourism Western Australia undertaking joint marketing activities to promote attractions of the state Down Under.

From the cosmopolitan capital of Perth to the wineries and scenic coastline of the State’s South West Coast and the world-famous Ningaloo Reef to the north on the Coral Coast, the campaign will focus on advertising, marketing and familiarisation trips for the travel trade and media from around the world to Western Australia.

The agreement was officially signed at a joint press conference by Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker and the Deputy Premier of Western Australia, the Honourable Dr. Kim Hames held at the State Reception Centre in Perth.

With yesterday’s launch of non-stop thrice-weekly scheduled flights by Qatar Airways from Doha to Perth, it boosted the airline’s foothold Down Under, where the carrier has been operating daily services to Melbourne on the east coast for more than two years.

“I’m absolutely delighted Qatar Airways has joined forces with the Government of Western Australia to further boost international visitor numbers to this state,” said Al Baker.

“With a large international network that spreads across The Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Qatar Airways is well positioned to fly passengers from many parts of the world via our Doha hub to Perth and its beautiful surrounding areas.

“I am sure visitors will enjoy the experience of Western Australia and, of course, flying with Qatar Airways and our unrivalled levels of onboard service. Germany, UK and US are prime examples of key markets for visitors to travel to this part of Australia.”

Added Al Baker: “After the success of our Melbourne route, we have been eagerly awaiting our arrival into Perth and the route is already showing popularity with very good forward bookings. I would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Australian authorities that have worked tirelessly to pave the way for Qatar Airways’ expansion in Australia.”

Operating with the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 long haul aircraft, passengers on the Perth – Doha route will be able to connect to key leisure and business destinations such as New York, London, Barcelona, Beirut, Dubai, Paris, New York, Nairobi and Sao Paulo.

As the country’s mining hub, businesses in Western Australia can now experience one-stop flights to the mineral rich destinations in Africa such as Kigali, Johannesburg and soon Maputo in Mozambique flying with Qatar Airways.

Perth becomes Qatar Airways’ 117th destination worldwide and the airline’s seventh new route launched so far this year.

Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has begun services to Baku (Azerbaijan); Tbilisi (Georgia); Zagreb (Croatia), Kigali (Rwanda), Erbil (Iraq) and Baghdad (Iraq), with many more new destinations planned during 2012.

Over the next few months, Qatar Airways launches services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (July 25), Mombasa, Kenya (August 15), Yangon, Myanmar (October 3), Maputo, Mozambique (October 31) and a date yet-to-be-announced to the Serbian capital Belgrade.