Bristol Airport, Destination Bristol and Bath Tourism Plus have teamed up to promote the West of England to airlines from across the globe at the world’s largest commercial aviation event.
Top of their agenda at the World Route Development Forum, which starts tomorrow in Chicago and lasts until Tuesday, is bringing back transatlantic flights to Bristol and developing new direct services to the Middle East. 
The forum gives airports and tourism organisations the chance to meet airlines to discuss new route opportunities.
As well as attending face-to-face meetings with airlines, Bristol and Bath will be represented on the VisitEngland stand in the international exhibition hall, showcasing iconic images of the West of England to 3,000 delegates, including representatives of 300 airlines.
It is the second year running that Destination Bristol has attended World Routes. Meetings at last year’s event in Las Vegas were instrumental in securing this summer’s twice-weekly Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) service from Stockholm which brought hundreds of high-spending Swedish visitors to the city.
Bath Tourism Plus has attended the Routes Europe event in the past, but Chicago will be the first time the World Heritage City will be represented at the global event.
Bristol Airport aviation director at Shaun Browne said: “World Routes is an important date in our calendar because it gives us the opportunity to meet with key decision-makers to make the case for new routes.
“Inbound tourism is a vital part of the passenger mix for airlines, so having the support of Destination Bristol and Bath Tourism Plus helps us to demonstrate the strong tourism offer we have for visitors to the West of England.
“We are confident we will be able to work together to secure new routes which will benefit the region and expect to announce details in the weeks following the Chicago event.”
The airport is keen to re-establish transatlantic flights following Continental Airlines’ decision to scrap its direct Bristol-New York service in 2010 after operating it for five years. It also wants to bring direct flights to Middle East destinations to the region for the first time as well as extending its European network, particularly on business routes.
A £6.5m central walkway opened this summer at the airport has been designed to take the latest generation of twin-engine, wide-body jets such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Provision has also been made in future work at the terminal for the addition of an airbridge for passengers boarding potential long-haul flights in future.
Destination Bristol chief executive John Hirst added: “World Routes offers an unrivalled opportunity to network with airlines, travel trade and airports from across the globe and we are working closely with the airport and VisitEngland to ensure that the potential of regional airports to deliver new routes and visitor markets is achieved.
“International visits to Bristol grew by 8.5% last year, making Bristol the eight most-visited town or city in the UK and this partnership is critical to continuing growth.”
The number of foreign residents using Bristol Airport has almost trebled in the past decade, with more than a million journeys made by overseas visitors from 82 different countries in 2012.
