Singapore’s new low-cost carrier, Scoot Airlines has announced it will make Gold Coast its second international route, with a five times weekly service to tap into the growing travel market between Singapore and Queensland.

Commencing from June this year, the new flights come on the back of the airline selecting Sydney as its first international destination and according to Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy will give the country “greater exposure” to South East Asia. 

"With Australia sitting on the periphery of the region it is vital that our aviation development strategy keeps Australian routes on their consideration list and leverages partnerships to secure the additional capacity we need to reach our 2020 growth targets,” Mr McEvoy explained.

Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter described the new direct services as “vital” and a long term goal for the region.

 “Gold Coast Tourism has led the way in developing the Asian travel market over the past five years through dedicated resources, continuous marketing campaigns, and a relentless program of travel industry partnerships and education,” Mr Winter added.

“The benefits of that strategy have already made an impact with visitation from markets such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia consistently increasing and offsetting declines from more traditional source markets, now direct access out of Singapore will amplify that success.”