Paul Kehoe, the Chief Executive of Birmingham Aiport has this morning commented on Jeremy Hunt's speech on tourism, which announced the continuation of the GREAT campaign next year with an £8 million focus on China.

Commenting on Jeremy Hunt's pledge to "work with airlines and aviation authorities to improve the number of flight connections to China", Paul Kehoe said:

"We welcome Jeremy Hunt’s comments today calling for more Chinese tourists and businesses to the UK.

"There is a perception in the aviation industry that the only way to get more direct flights to new markets in China is to build more runways in the South East. At Birmingham Airport we have been building our links with China who are interested in flying directly to Birmingham.

"If we make the most of the airport capacity that we have across the whole of the UK, and if the Government’s marketing programme includes marketing for airports outside of the South East, the millions of spare capacity we have at UK airports like Birmingham can bring more direct flights to and from China. In turn this will increase private investment in cities outside of the South East that desperately need investment in economically uncertain times."
 
In June, Birmingham Airport unveiled a new campaign calling for them and other airports to be seen as part of the solution to ease overcrowding at airports in the South East.

Their recent report, Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket: a challenge to aviation orthodoxy, argues that in order for the whole of Britain to capture the economic benefits of changes in global travel, the Government must fully utilise existing airport infrastructure and pursue a balanced aviation strategy.

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