China's first direct flight to Australia's Brisbane is set to take off from Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, at 9 p.m. Monday, an unnamed official with China Southern Airlines said.

Flights to Brisbane depart Guangzhou at 9 p.m. and arrive at 7:45 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, while return flights leave Brisbane at 9:15 a.m. and arrive in Guangzhou at 4:20 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the official said.

The launch of the new flight route seeks to boost bilateral tourism and facilitate personnel exchanges, he said.

Australia received 204,000 Chinese tourists during the first five months of 2010, up 10 percent year on year. Further, China had become Australia's fourth largest source of tourists as of the end of 2009.

Brisbane, capital of Queensland, is the third largest city in Australia and a popular tourist destination.