CHINA Southern Airlines will double its Melbourne services by introducing twice-daily flights between Guangzhou and Melbourne from October 2011.

The introduction of double-daily services comes just one year after the carrier introduced daily flights, up from thrice-weekly.

Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, said China Southern’s additional services would increase the number of visitors from China to Melbourne and Victoria, as well provide more opportunities for Australians travelling to China.

“China is our number one longhaul market and as Victoria’s international aviation gateway, we are pleased to be able to support the strengthening of Victoria’s tourism, education and business relationship with China,” he said.

There were 386,118 Chinese nationals who travelled through Melbourne Airport in 2010/11, a 26.2 per cent increase over the previous year.

Chinese visitors are responsible for the highest level of expenditure of all international source markets for Victoria.