THE Chinese developer of the giant Jewel resort, on the Gold Coast, will fly in two plane loads of mainland visitors a week to the tourist strip as it starts marketing the project.
Dalian Wanda Group has partnered with Jetstar to operate two 787 Dreamliner flights between the Gold Coast and the city of Wuhan from September as it moves to boost Chinese visitors and increase exposure for its $1 billion development.
Wanda joins a growing list of Chinese investors in the state’s crumbling tourism infrastructure. Hong Kong-based Fullshare Group is redeveloping resorts along the Queensland coast, including the Sheraton Mirage, at Port Douglas.
Wanda will next week open a display centre for Jewel before it starts marketing the more than 500 luxury apartments in September. The direct Wuhan flights start on September 29.
Dalian Wanda Gold Coast managing director Xu Weimin told an Australia-China Business Council lunch on Wednesday that the flights would bring an extra 30,000 Chinese tourists a year to the coast.
“That will be a big boost for the tourism industry on the Gold Coast,” Mr Xu said.
Chaired by Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men, Wanda has invested close to $1 billion in the Jewel resort with its partner Ridong Group. The Jewel on the beachfront at Surfers Paradise will also feature 171 hotel rooms and dozens of luxury retail precincts when completed in 2018.
Wanda Ridong (Gold Coast) marketing director Andrew Bampton said the flights had not been organised to directly market the project but it would help.
“There will be in-flight marketing material on the plane about the project but the tourists are not on an itinerary,” Mr Bampton said. “The idea is to boost tourism to the Cold Coast generally.
“Wanda has celebrity status in China and the people coming to the Gold Coast will certainly be interested in what the company is doing there.”
Dalian Wanda is China’s largest five-star hotel owner, with extensive interests in retail shops, cinemas and commercial property.
“Wanda aims to become a leading global multinational corporation by 2020,” Mr Xu said yesterday. “Since 2012, we have invested billions of US dollars in various overseas projects.”
Earlier this year it invested $1 billion in Sydney Harbour’s No 1 project.