New Mardi Gras has announced the signing of a new sponsorship agreement making Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Blue Airlines Group the official airlines for the Sydney event. Virgin Blue Airlines group includes new long-haul international airline V Australia, long-time New Mardi Gras supporter Virgin Blue and sister airline Pacific Blue, which flies to New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands. The new four-year agreement, designed to target growth in visitor numbers to the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, will see the airlines assist in promoting the event across a growing network now spanning 28 Australian cities and towns and 13 international destinations including the U.S., South Pacific and Southeast Asian countries. In August, Events NSW research showed that Mardi Gras brought over 21,000 visitors into New South Wales in 2009, generating almost $30 million in new money for the state. Of these visitors, New Mardi Gras estimates that just under half are international travelers with the U.S. and U.K. each accounting for just under a third of the total. For more information, visit www.mardigras.org.au.
