CEO & Board Updates

Easter was busy across the region with 94,000 passengers passing through Cairns Airport last week and 77,000 during the first week of the Queensland school holidays. Cairns has not seen this domestic air capacity since 2018.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given high praise to TTNQ when outlining why our destination marketing organisation has received one-quarter of the $60 million Federal funding allocated to international tourism recovery.

There was a collective sigh of relief when Australia’s international borders opened on Monday allowing the tourism industry to plan ahead with the certainty we have been craving over the past two years.

International education and working holiday makers are back and leisure travel is looking tantalising close as the tourism industry waits for the Federal Government to expand the number of visa categories allowed to enter Australia.

Queensland’s barriers have finally lifted for domestic travel and international visitation is just around the corner as our industry nervously waits to gauge the consumer confidence in travel for early 2022.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists at the Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane last week. It was inspiring to see 21 Tropical North Queensland products had made the enormous effort to enter the awards during one of the most challenging years our industry has faced.

The Premier’s announcement of 17 December as the date for the reopening of Queensland’s borders is welcome news. It will give confidence to consumers and a compelling reason for the community to be vaccinated.

Will a Tropical North Queensland tourism operator win the RACQ People’s Choice Awards in the Queensland Tourism Awards this year? I hope so and we can help by voting for them.

TTNQ is urging the State and Federal Governments to work together on wage support assistance similar to the JobSaver program offered by the New South Wales Government in conjunction with the Commonwealth.

TTNQ recognises the impact that school holiday lockdowns have caused Cairns & Great Barrier Reef tourism operators with losses of $3-5 million a day in the region.

Domestic interest in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has never been stronger as we enter the traditional peak season for welcoming our southern friends escaping their cold winter.

The Federal Government’s additional $7.7 million in targeted support to promote Cairns & Great Barrier Reef as a year-round destination to domestic visitors will significantly increase the domestic marketing power of our destination.

Domestic demand for Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is at an all-time high with more than 60,000 people expected through Cairns Airport this week after a very successful Easter brought 21,000 arrivals our way.

The Cairns Holiday Dollars campaign has turned the spotlight on Cairns & Great Barrier Reef with almost 100,000 people registering in just 48 hours and more than $4.6 million in publicity generated for the destination.

Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan has assured the Tropical North Queensland business community that the Government would offer targeted support for those who need it beyond March.

2021 presents our region with both challenges and opportunities. Our primary international markets will hopefully be returning to the region, and we have a real opportunity to increase our share of Australians travelling at home in 2021.

The Cairns & Great Barrier Reef tourism industry has 125 million reasons to be happy with the confirmation that visitors from Greater Sydney and Victoria will be able to travel from 1 December.

Summer is upon us and with it comes regular quenching rainfall, sweet tropical produce, crystal clear waters on the reef and the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef “Summer Great. Leave Greater.” campaign, which launched on Sunday 25 October.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) has secured a $16.5 million five-year funding agreement with Cairns Regional Council.

Cairns & Great Barrier Reef will be in the spotlight next week with Queensland’s Cabinet, the State’s tourism leaders and the Today Show’s weather team all in region.