Qantas and the Queensland Government have announced a $9.78 million deal to promote Brisbane and Regional Queensland to the world.

Queensland Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones said the three-year agreement involved a joint investment from Qantas and Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) to attract more visitors to Queensland from across Australia and international markets including Asia, United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“We are thrilled one of the world’s most iconic airlines is continuing to partner with Tourism and Events Queensland to ensure Queensland is the first choice for travellers,” Minister Jones said.

“The agreement will promote Queensland as Australia’s premier tourist and major event destination, growing inbound and domestic traffic to major cities and regional areas. This in turn will maximise the economic impact of visitors to Queensland and create local jobs.

The three-year deal follows the success of the partnership that began in 2013. It focuses on both destination and event marketing including joint marketing and advertising campaigns with a focus on digital and social media, trade partner campaigns, public relations activities and trade and media visits.

Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans said the national carrier serviced more destinations in Queensland than in any other state in Australia, bringing millions of business and premium leisure visitors to Queensland every year.

“As the largest private investor in Australian tourism, it’s a really exciting time for us to be investing to attract more visitors to Queensland, particularly with the relatively low Australian dollar and the number of visitors from markets like Hong Kong, China and the US at an all-time high,” said Mr Evans.

“In the last three years, we have seen a double digit percentage increase in the number of travellers from Asia to Queensland. Over the last 12 months in particular, the number of tourists from Japan have increased beyond our expectations following the introduction of direct daily flights between Brisbane and Tokyo.

“We know that online and social media campaigns are really effective at inspiring more people to travel to Australia, so that will be a big part of our focus,” added Mr Evans.

TEQ and Qantas are finalising details for joint digital campaigns under the new partnership, which are expected to commence later this year in multiple overseas markets.

Qantas, together with QantasLink, currently services more than 20 destinations in Queensland and connects the State to more than 200 destinations around the world. Jetstar also provides seamless connectivity into Asia to provide a strong feed for the Queensland tourism industry.

Today’s announcement follows a similar deal between Qantas and New South Wales. Qantas works with each of the tourism organisations in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New South Wales to drive more visitors to Australia.