Airnorth announces premium gold sponsorship of the 2013 international events

Official Press Release for 2013 Tour de Timor

The Minister of Tourism for Timor-Leste, Francisco Kabualdi Lay, welcomed Airnorth representatives to Dili, Timor-Leste to announce their premium gold sponsorship of the 2013 Tour de Timor. Airnorth outlined their $290,000 USD support for the 2013 Tour de Timor, which will be the fifth time the MTB (mountain bike) race has been held. In addition Airnorth also announced their $75,000 USD sponsorship of the Dili Marathon.

This year the 2013 Tour de Timor promises to be the most challenging route ever as the race winds its way through the spectacular central mountain regions of Timor-Leste. Airnorth’s sponsorship will enable hundreds of Australian riders, support staff, volunteers and media to attend the annual Tour de Timor and the Dili Marathon.

Talking about the upcoming race in September Minister Lay said “It is with great pride that I am able to announce the first major sponsor of the Ministry of Tourism’s international events for 2013. Airnorth has sponsored Timor-Leste’s premiere international sporting event since its conception in 2009 and this year’s race will continue to showcase Timor-Leste’s natural beauty and amazing tourism potential.”

During the press conference event coordinators displayed the 2013 Tour de Timor race route, this year’s race will have overnight camps in Baucau, Ossu, Alas, Maubisse and Liquica.

Minister Lay went onto to say “It is my pleasure to invite our many friends in Australia to come and participate again in the race later this year in September. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Airnorth and its staff for their ongoing commitment to the Tour de Timor. Airnorth’s efforts to assist this event has been a major factor in driving the international notoriety of the race as the world’s most challenging MTB multi day cycling event.

Airnorth’s representative, Ms. Tammy Baczynski explained about Airnorth’s history with the race and their involvement for this year: “ Airnorth are very pleased to announce our premium gold sponsorship of the 2013 Tour de Timor and Dili Marathon. We have a strong and continued commitment in supporting peace and development in Timor-Leste through sport and tourism. It is sponsorship of major events such as these that enables us to say thank you to the Timorese people for their support of Airnorth and our services that we have been operating for over 13 years.

Around 400 riders are expected to ride together in what is fast becoming Asia’s most notorious (and

lucrative) mountain bike race. The race will be held in September between the 2
addition the ‘Ride for Peace’ (a short distance non competitive ride involving school children and participants) will be held on the 1st of September in the capital of Dili.

Visit the official website: www.tourdetimor.com for more info.
For further information contact: info@tdt.com or borrellsean@hotmail.com ends.

For more information contact:
Tammy Baczynski
Marketing & Communications Manager Ph: +61 8 8920 4058 | Mob: 0439 234 058 tammy.baczynski@airnorth.com.au

Company background

Headquartered in Darwin, Airnorth is now the premier airline based in Northern Australia and carries in excess of 300,000 passengers annually.

Airnorth is a full service carrier accommodating the needs of both business and leisure travellers, operating state-of-art regional jets through its interstate and international network and providing passengers with complimentary catering and a free baggage allowance.

The airline operates over 185 departures weekly, serving 16 destinations in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland and Timor-Leste including:

Passengers can also earn and redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer points on all Airnorth scheduled services.

Airnorth, through its partnership with Qantas Airways, offer seamless connectivity including through check in and interline baggage facilities, with Qantas code sharing on the majority of Airnorth’s Jet services.

In addition to scheduled departures, Airnorth operates contract and ad-hoc charter services for a wide variety of companies undertaking oil & gas, mining, defence and government activity.

Airnorth directly employs more than 200 staff in Darwin and provides indirect employment through the contracting of ground service operations across its destinations.

Airnorth was recently awarded as the winner of the 2012 Large Services Award at the Northern Territory’s Chief Minister’s Export and Industry Awards that recognise the important contribution that

NT businesses make to the local economy through job creation and increased prosperity in the community.