China Southern’s Inaugural Perth Flight
8 November 2011
南方航空股份有限公司，司献明董事长、谭万庚总经理、张子芳书记、何宗凯副总
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
尊敬的来宾、女士们、先生们，
It is my great pleasure to be here this afternoon to join you all in celebrating the inaugural China Southern flight from Guangzhou to Perth.
很荣幸在此与诸位一同庆祝南航广州至澳大利亚柏斯首航仪式。
This flight represents the inauguration the first direct air service between China and Western Australia. This link will directly contribute to the continued growth in Australia’s robust and rapidly expanding relationship with China.
本次航班代表着中国与西澳大利亚间首次直航的开启。该航线的联接将直接推动澳大利亚与中国密切关系进一步快速发展。
In the last decade, the annual value of trade between our two countries has grown from around $A10 billion to over $A105 billion. China is now Australia’s largest and most important trade partner.
在过去的十年间，两国年度贸易总额已由约10亿澳元增长至超过1千零五十亿澳元。中国已成为澳大利亚最大且最重要的贸易伙伴。
And an increasingly important component of this mutually beneficial trade relationship is tourism. To put it mildly, two-way travel is booming.
而这种双边互利贸易关系的重要组成部分之一便是旅游业。换句话说，两国间旅游业也正日益蓬勃发展。
In recent years, China has risen to become Australia’s third-largest inbound tourism market. Some 400,000 Chinese tourists visited Australia in the year to March 2011. This influx generated over $2.5 billion in economic value, helping to make tourism one of Australia’s top exports.
近年来，中国已跃居成为澳大利亚第三大入境旅游市场。截止至今年三月，约有40万中国游客到访澳大利亚， 创造了逾25亿澳元经济价值，促使旅游业占据了澳大利亚出口产业的首位。
And it has not been one-way traffic. Since 2000, Australians travelling to China have trebled from 83,400 to 277,300 per year. This represents an average annual increase of more that 16 percent. Both our nations have therefore seen rapid growth in tourism and people-to-people links.
这不是单方面的数据。自2000年以来，澳大利亚居民每年出行中国人数已成3倍增长，从8万3千400人增长至27万7千300人，平均年度增长幅度16%。两国的旅游业均得到快速增长，人民间的联系也日益密切。
These ties are important to us and the Australian Government wants to see them continue to grow.
澳大利亚政府重视这样的联系，并希望这种联系能持续增长。
Our official forecasts predict that numbers of Chinese visitors to Australia are expected to increase to 783,000 by 2019, at an average annual rate of growth of nearly 8 percent.
澳大利亚官方预测显示，至2019年，中国出行澳大利亚游客数目将增长至78万3千人次，年均增长约为8%。
The recent success of the Australia – China tourism relationship is a truly impressive story.
澳大利亚与中国近期在旅游业上的发展成果让人感叹不已。
A direct link between Western Australia and China has been, until now, a missing chapter in this story. I commend China Southern for taking this important step forward.
而在今天之前，连接西澳和中国直航的开启也一直是众所期待的。感谢中国南方航空股份有限公司为此迈出重要的一步。
That China Southern is the first airline to operate direct flights between Perth and China is not in itself surprising.
对于南航能成为首个开启柏斯与中国直航的航空公司，我感觉一点也不惊讶。
China Southern has been a key partner of the Australian tourism industry for over a decade. China Southern’s role in helping to produce the outstanding growth in two-way tourism cannot be over estimated. They have been a great advocate of Australia as a tourism destination for the Chinese market.
在过去10年，中国南方航空股份有限公司一直是澳大利亚旅游业的重要合作伙伴， 长期向中国市场推动澳大利亚做为旅游目的地。南航在协助双边旅游发展上所扮演的角色不容小觑。
And it is not hard to see why they have chosen Perth as their next Australian destination.
因此不难理解为什么南航会选择柏斯作为他们推介的下一个澳大利亚旅游目的地。
Perth is the capital of Western Australia – a state renowned for its many places of natural beauty, and world class attractions.
作为西澳大利亚首都， 柏斯是已其众多的自然风光与世界级景点而著称的。
From the picturesque wine region of Margaret River to the wilds and dark red earth of the Kimberley Region, Western Australia offers something for everyone – a veritable wonderland which I am sure Chinese tourists will enjoy.
从风景如画的红酒产地玛格利特河到野外的金伯利。柏斯就是一个名符其实的美妙世界，相信中国游客总能找到一个适合自己的景区。
And I am sure it won’t only be tourists that enjoy the convenience of this new air route.
除了游客，我相信还有更多的人受益于这条新航线的开启。
Western Australia is Australia’s export powerhouse. And Chinese companies have a long history of trade with, and investment in, Western Australia.
西澳是澳大利亚重要的出口产地。中国公司与西澳大利亚的贸易往来和投资由来已久。
These days it is just as common to see a potential Chinese investor scouring the iron ore hills of the Pilbara, or the gold fields of Kalgoorlie, as it is to see a Canadian, American or European.
如今看到除了加拿大，美国或者欧洲商人以外，中国投资者到皮尔巴拉寻求铁矿石，或者卡尔古利寻求金矿的现象，也不足为奇了。
And on a personal note, I look forward to utilising the service to visit my two sons in Perth. It will definitely beat the inconvenience of a stop-over in Hong Kong or Singapore!
从我个人来说，我也非常期待搭乘该航线到柏斯探望我的两个儿子。这绝对要比我从香港飞达新加坡转机要方便的多了。
I am sure, whether they be tourists, businessmen or separated family members, the new Guangzhou-Perth service will be a hit to the travelling public.
我相信，无论是游客，商人，探亲，新开启的广州至柏斯航线无疑将受到大众的热捧。
It really does appear that in relation to the Australia-China relationship, the sky, really is, the limit.
这也恰恰体现了澳大利亚与中国的关系：国域有边界，天空无界限。
Thank you.
谢谢。