MANCHESTER, England, September 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd. Signed as Host for Routes Asia 2015

It was announced today that Routes Asia will return to China in 2015 when the event takes place 15-17 March in Kunming, the capital and largest city of Yunnan province in Southwest China, hosted by Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd. owners of Kunming Changshui International Airport, and supported by their partners Yunnan Provincial Civil Aviation Development and Management Bureau and Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Commission.

This will be the fifth time that a Routes event has taken place in China.  In 2007 Routes Asia was held in Hainan and the following year the event took place in Macau.  World Routes 2009 took place in Beijing and, most recently, Routes Asia 2012 took place in Chengdu, hosted by Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

With its beautiful landscapes and mild climate the Yunnan province is one of China's major tourist destinations.  Located at an altitude of 1,900m above sea level the city of Kunming, known as the 'City of Eternal Spring', enjoys an average temperature of 15°C.  The perpetual spring-like weather provides the ideal climate for plants and flowers to flourish.  This ideal ecological environment, along with the countless natural lakes in the region, creates beautiful landscapes which have made this destination a popular holiday resort in China.

"On behalf of Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd, I look forward to welcoming delegates from the aviation and tourism industry to Kunming to attend Routes Asia 2015, which will be proudly hosted by Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd.," said Mr Tang Xuefan, President of Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd., continuing:  "The central government of China, Yunnan Provincial Government and the Civil Aviation Administration of China strongly support the development of Yunnan's aviation industry.  Kunming Changshui International Airport has the geographic advantage of being able to connect China, Southeast Asia and South Asia.  With the development of China's western region, the central government is building Yunnan into a gateway for China by opening up to the Southwest region. This establishes Kunming International Airport as a national gateway hub, and brings new opportunities for the development of Yunnan aviation marketing."

"We are delighted that Routes Asia will return to China for the fourth time, hosted by Yunnan Airport Group Co., Ltd from 15-17 March 2015 in Kunming," says Adrian Newton, Group Director of UBM Live London, explaining:  "Kunming Changshui International Airport is the seventh busiest airport in China and has undergone a complete reconstruction.  Routes Asia 2015 will provide an opportunity to showcase this to the Routes community.  Delegates will also experience Kunming - the "City of Eternal Spring" and Yunnan Province and its natural beauty.  Yunnan Airport Group Co. Ltd has been attending Routes events for many years and we now look forward to working even more closely with their team to deliver Routes Asia in 2015."

Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) is located just 27km northeast of Kunming city centre and is the 7^th largest airport in China with the most rapidly growing number of passengers.  In 2012 the airport welcomed 23.98 million passengers and provided connection to 116 destinations such as Dubai, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur operated by 34 airlines.  

As a national hub airport connecting Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe, KMG is the fourth largest hub in China, following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and is also the most important gateway hub in western China.  It is the world's leading eco-friendly airport which was planned, designed and built on the principle of being energy saving, environmentally friendly and traveller friendly based on modern technologies.

Notes to Editors

About Routes

• Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. http://www.routesonline.com
  
• All destinations and Hosts of Routes Asia Events are listed below:
  
  Sepang, Malaysia, 2003, hosted by Malaysia Airports
  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia hosted by for 2 years in 2004-2005 
  Pattaya, Thailand, 9-11 April 2006, hosted by Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited 
  Hainan, China, 25-27 March 2007, hosted by Hainan Meilan International Airport
  Macau, China, 11-13 April 2008, hosted by Macau International Airport 
  Hyderabad, India 29-31 March 2009, hosted by Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (GMR Group).
  Adelaide, Australia 18-20 April 2010, hosted by Adelaide Airport
  Incheon, South Korea 27-29 March 2011, hosted by Incheon International Airport Corporation
  Chengdu, China 15-17 April 2012, hosted by Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CDIA)
  Mumbai, India 17-19 March 2013, hosted by Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd
  Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 9-11 March 2014, hosted by Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and co-hosted by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
  
• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK-based ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. http://www.asm-global.com
  
• Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010.  From 1^st August 2012 Routes, ASM and the Airport Cities Conference and Exhibition become part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.
  
• UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.  Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors. http://www.ubmlive.com

Follow us on twitter: @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU, @airlineroute

SOURCE UBM Live Routes Ltd