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The latest statistics show international arrivals are still one-third below pre-pandemic levels, with huge falls in visitors from Asia, Europe and the United States.

Visitor arrivals from north-east Asia were down 62 per cent in the calendar year to May, driven by a 78 per cent fall in arrivals from China alone.

China was Australia’s largest tourism market before the pandemic, with group travel alone representing about half a billion dollars.

Farrell said that encouraging Chinese tourists to come back was consistent with trying to diversify Australia’s tourism markets.

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“In terms of our diversification strategy, it’s not about shrinking the pie, it’s not about taking any less Chinese tourists, it is about expanding,” Farrell said.

“I was in Vietnam a few months ago, where I launched the first Flight from Ho Chi Minh [City] into Brisbane.

“There are four Vietnamese airlines that are flying into Australia, so we are diversifying.”

King has struggled to explain why she blocked granting Qatar extra flights.

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She told this masthead there was no link to her decision and the treatment of Australian women who were taken off their Qatar Airways flight and forced to undergo invasive searches at Doha Airport, despite having made her first comments confirming her determination in a private letter to them.

That correspondence has been seen by this masthead.

King has gone on to cite various reasons, including protecting the national interest, climate change and the desire to protect Australian jobs.

Meanwhile, her spokeswoman warned that it would be “many months” until extra flights from Turkey would come online, with legal negotiations ongoing.

Turkish Airlines also wants to add more flights to Australia, but Chairman Ahmet Bolat said the request was delayed, citing legal issues.

King’s spokeswoman said in a statement: “At this stage Turkish airlines have not applied to Australian aviation authorities to operate services to Australia.

“These critical regulatory processes will take many months to complete before services could commence to Australia.

“Australian aviation officials recently met virtually with the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for initial discussions on air services arrangements and agreed to a path forward for formally considering future updates to them, the responsibility for which rests with each country’s aviation authorities.”

James Goodwin, from the Australian Airports Association, said the government should be rolling out the red carpet for airlines to add long-haul flights to Australia to their schedules.

“We should be encouraging as many international carriers to fly here as we can and help facilitate existing airlines to increase their flight numbers,” he said.

“It’s good for Australia – good for travellers and good for the aviation and tourism sectors that are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

“More seats mean more competition, more options and more work for those at the airport and beyond.”

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