DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates national airline Emirates Air announced on Wednesday that it had signed a global marketing agreement with Tourism Australia which will see both parties collectively spend up to A$14.3 million (Dh 53.63 million) over the next three years on a range of joint marketing activities. The move follows close on the heels of Emirates signing a 10-year codeshare deal with the Australia's flag carrier, Qantas. The deal, which marks Emirates' largest investment so far in a global tourism body, is aimed at using the carrier's widespread network to further boost visitation from key markets in Europe and New Zealand, Emirates said in a statement, adding that it would focus on some of Australia's leading inbound visitor markets such as the UK, Germany and New Zealand, in addition to France and Italy. “Emirates' A$14.3 million partnership with Tourism Australia takes the airline's investment in ‘destination Australia' to the next level. This is the largest investment Emirates has ever made with a global tourism body, highlighting our commitment to Tourism Australia's strategy for attracting global travelers," Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Far East & Australasia, said in a statement. He added that Emirates today enables travelers from more than 30 European locations to travel to Australia via one stop in Dubai. Emirates currently operate 70 flights per week to Australia via its Dubai hub: 21 services to Sydney; 21 to Melbourne; 14 to Brisbane; and 14 to Perth. This is planned to grow to 84 weekly by early 2013.
