As announced last week on The Newsport, China Southern Airlines, China's biggest international airline, has confirmed that it is to start new flights to Cairns, its fifth port in Australia.

China Southern has announced it will start three new weekly flights from Guangzhou to Brisbane via Cairns from December, in preparation for the busy Chinese New Year holiday period.

Tourism Australia said that China Southern was the second Chinese airline in a month to announce new flights to Cairns.

In July, China Eastern Airline confirmed its new direct flights from Shanghai to Cairns.   Tourism Australia Chief Andrew McEvoy called the additional flights a 'tourism renaissance' and said it would help local tourism operators take advantage of Cairns' growing number of Chinese visitors.

"With Chinese visitors to Cairns up nearly 40% last year, the appeal is clearly there," he said in a statement.

"Now with this significant increase of air capacity, so is the improvement in air access we need from Australia's fastest growing and most valuable overseas market."

China Southern, according to figures released from Tourism Australia carried 22% of all Chinese tourists into Australia during 2011.

McEvoy said increasing flight capacity between China and Australia was important for the Australian tourism industry to further benefit from the fast growing markets of Asia.

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