The first direct flights from the North to China launched today with the departure of Hainan Airlines’ inaugural Manchester to Beijing flight. Manchester becomes the only British airport outside London to have scheduled non-stop flights to China. The economic benefit to the UK is expected to be at least £250m, with 2/3 of this going directly to the Northern economy in the form of increased jobs, economic activity and tourism.

Building on North – China links

The flights will provide a more convenient route for the 100,000 people already travelling between the North of England and Beijing every year.  Annual journey time savings of £5m are expected to be made by eliminating the inconvenience of changing ‘planes.

Growing tourism opportunities for the North

The connections will boost Northern-Chinese business links as well as growing tourism opportunities.  China became the world’s largest source of overseas tourism in 2012 and has experienced double digit growth every year since then. With over 120 million Chinese travelling overseas last year and Chinese tourists acclaimed as the world’s biggest spenders while on holiday, the benefits to the regional tourism economy are potentially huge, especially in attracting the growing group of independent Chinese travellers.

Northern Powerhouse

Announced by Chinese President Xi Jingping during his State visit to the UK in October last year, the flights support the UK’s Northern Powerhouse.  Other planned transport and infrastructure projects due to boost the Northern Powerhouse’s connections include the Leeds-Manchester high-speed rail link and the upgrade of the M62 to 4 lanes between Leeds and Manchester.

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