Latest News & Media Releases

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (July 7, 2026) — The world’s largest diving organization today announced its inaugural PADI AmbassaDiver™ Summit, a first-of-its-kind global gathering that will bring together its most influential divers, storytellers, ocean advocates, and celebrities on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef later this year.

Hot on the heels of being named one of Australia’s top tourism towns, Port Douglas and the Daintree will be showcased to 16 leading Australian travel agents this week.

What’s new in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef this winter from tours and attractions, accomodation, food and beverage and events.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the strong Tropical North Queensland contingent would ensure the destination gained maximum exposure at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE26).

The first 400 bookings for a Tropical North Queensland holiday with My Queensland from today (May 5) will receive a $300 bonus on package deals for travel during May and June, as part of a destination brand campaign to drive immediate visitation to the region.

A sunset cruise with cocktails, a gin masterclass, wine flights paired with local food and a craft beer festival are among the events to raise your glass to during April’s Tasting the Tropics in Tropical North Queensland.

Tropical North Queensland’s inaugural month-long celebration of local food and drink begins on Wednesday (April 1) with Tasting the Tropics.

Australia’s oldest professional tourism guiding course is incorporating modern citizen science activities into a field school in Cairns this week to train the next generation of Savannah Guides.

The one-month countdown is on for the 20th anniversary of the Undara Rock & Blues Festival on April 24-26 with locals encouraged to head west and support operators along the Savannah Way.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) is bringing the destination’s unique food story to life in April with the launch of Tasting the Tropics.

Cairns Harbourside Hotel has reduced water usage in their laundry by half, saving about 1.5 million litres of water a year as part of its commitment to reducing water use and is implementing an AI program to further reduce consumption.

Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has launched a refreshed website to inspire meeting planners to discover transformational experiences for their next event.

Home to one of the world’s seven natural wonders, one of the oldest rainforests and the oldest living culture with more than 60,000 years of connection to country, Tropical North Queensland has a long history of tourism-led conservation.

Two international campaigns celebrating the Great Barrier Reef have earned Tourism Tropical North Queensland the Initiative of the Year in the global Regenerative Travel Impact Awards 2025.

Tropical North Queensland is the best performing region in the State after achieving record international spend and visitation generated by campaign activity delivered through the $15 million Federal Government Tourism Recovery Program. 

It may not snow in Queensland in December, but underwater, the Great Barrier Reef is putting on its own kind of snowfall in a dazzling underwater exhibition of new life.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the lucrative international business event would continuously bring groups of around 450 to 500 delegates on four-night itineraries across 22 days.

The 2025 Qantas and Jetstar TNQ Tourism Industry Excellence Awards at the Cairns Convention Centre on October 24 celebrated the 50th anniversary of Tourism Tropical North Queensland with 350 guests at the gala event.

First Nations tourism operators are enjoying increased business as international tourism numbers return to Tropical North Queensland with some reporting record figures at the TNQ Indigenous Experiences Cluster Group meeting today (October 14) during Indigenous Business Month.

Tropical North Queensland’s Welcome Ambassadors are greeting the Carnival Adventure with copies of the newly launched Cruise Map as more than 3000 passengers and 1000 crew disembark in Cairns today (September 15).

Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s (TTNQ) record 110 international campaigns in 2024-25 delivered an extra 205,000 visitors to the region supporting more than 1500 additional jobs in our communities.

See what’s new in tours and attractions, accommodation, food & beverage and events.

More than 1.2 million people world-wide have shown their support for the Great Barrier Reef to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in the United Nations Environment Programme’s highly regarded Champions of the Earth environmental awards.

Four Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) members have joined the Ecotourism Hall of Fame marking 20 years of continued commitment to global best practice sustainability standards.

TNQ tourism industry mourns the passing of one of its legends.

May is the month of Masters in Tropical North Queensland with hockey teams, mountain bikers and an array of athletes arriving in Cairns to swim, run, play netball, and compete in new events like pickleball at three key sporting championships that together will inject $9.4 million into the region.

The Great Barrier Reef has been nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award in the United Nations Environment Programme’s highly regarded Champions of the Earth environmental awards.

Cairns Marlin Marina will be the home base for three superyachts with the arrival of the Morris Nautical’s M.Y. Northern Escape, M.Y Flying Fish and M.Y Beluga highlighting the city’s capabilities as a superyacht hub.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) has published its first annual Sustainability Report charting the extensive work undertaken to guide the industry towards reducing carbon emissions and contributing to the local environment and community.

A second hectare of tree kangaroo habitat has been planted today by the tourism industry as part of Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s partnership with Reforest to connect the industry with local carbon removal and ecosystem restoration.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Webjet are working together again to offer discounted airfares to Cairns for travel until the end of May 2025 with up to $125 off interstate flights and $100 off intrastate flights after a record-breaking sale late last year.

The announcement by Fiji Airways today (November 20) that it will launch direct services to Cairns from April 10 will speed up recovery from the North American market, according to Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ).

Everyone involved in welcoming guests to Tropical North Queensland is set to benefit from the new Tropical North Queensland Welcomes You program.

The Tropical North Queensland tourism industry recognised its innovative people and products at the 2024 Expedia Group TNQ Tourism Industry Excellence Awards at the Screen Queensland Studio in Cairns on October 25.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s ability to multiply the value of funding through strategic partnerships continued in 2023-24 by generating $177.8 million in domestic and international visitor expenditure and a record $300 million in advertising value equivalent including $123 million in publicity.

The Tropical North Queensland tourism sector could become a $7.5 billion industry by 2032 supporting an extra 12,500 regional jobs and contributing an additional $780 million in tax revenue per annum.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen paid tribute to Sir Frank Moore, the father of tourism in Queensland, who passed away yesterday (October 10).

More than 4400 Aussies have booked flights to Cairns in just 36 hours following a partnership between Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Webjet to increase visitation to the region from November through to May.

The cruise season is underway in Tropical North Queensland with 14 scheduled visits in October including the Pacific Encounter today (October 8) with 2600 passengers ahead of a very busy November.

Discounted Cairns airfares launch on Monday (October 7) as part of a marketing campaign strategy to drive visitation during the low season to Tropical North Queensland.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) generated more than $37 million in sales in the China market last financial year helping to grow the Chinese market by around 20,000 visitors for the region.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) is seeking bipartisan commitment for the State Government to fund destination marketing for the next four years to support about 2185 jobs and bring in more than $735 million in visitor expenditure for the Queensland economy.

Conservation curious travellers can visit the newly launched website and work through a series of short educational videos and fast, each with a coupon reward system to use with Expedia bookings on the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia faces a pressing waste management issue, impacting every sector including the tourism and hospitality sectors. Annually, our nation produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic with up to 5% of this leaking into marine environments.

New Zealand’s top Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program agents were rewarded with an eight-day famil of Tropical North Queensland ahead of an increase in direct flights to Cairns.

Global tourism recovery trends, changing consumer behaviour, and responsible artificial intelligence use are among the topics to be discussed at the My Queensland TNQ Tourism Conference at the Hilton Cairns tomorrow (June 19).

A toolkit to help tourism operators develop new experiences and encourage visitors to the Gulf Savannah beyond the peak season will be launched next week to help boost the region’s resilience after natural disasters.

An accessible rainforest canopy walkway and a kayak launcher are among 46 new Tropical North Queensland initiatives to result from Queensland’s Year of Accessible Tourism.

That’s the latest major tourism marketing offensive Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) is kicking off today, in its biggest campaign in more than a decade, and Tropical North Queensland has a starring role.

Jump on a jetski and whizz around Pajinka, the northern-most tip of Australia, with a First Nations-led jetski tour launching on 25 May. Pafetai Morseau from Badu Island has founded Cape York Jetski Tours to showcase the remote region’s culture and history as part of an action-packed jetski tour that can also take in the Torres Strait islands. Fishing and trips to remote art centres are among the options for the tours departing from Seisa in Cape York Peninsula.

Tropical North Queensland is the most eco-certified destination in Australia with 72 active ecocertified companies and 27 businesses undertaking the process with Ecotourism Australia.

Visitors to Tropical North Queensland can enjoy $100 off hundreds of tours including Great Barrier Reef trips, scenic helicopter flights and guided rainforest adventures from today with the national launch of the Tropical Dollars campaign.

Described as the ‘epitome of a tropical paradise’ Tropical North Queensland’s Palm Cove has been crowned best beach in the world by Conde Nast Traveller magazine.

The resilience of Tropical North Queensland after record flooding in December has inspired corporations planning incentive events for international destinations this year to move their business to Cairns.

Independent day visitors can head north of the Daintree River from 5am on Monday 19 February to see the iconic view from the Alexandra Lookout and visit attractions such as the Daintree Discovery Centre.

Tropical North Queensland is the most eco-certified destination in Australia with 72 active eco-certified companies and 27 businesses undertaking the process with Ecotourism Australia.

The iconic Great Barrier Reef Drive opened at 8am today (Saturday January 20) providing a coastal route to Port Douglas and Daintree in addition the daily ferry service from Cairns and the scenic inland route via Mareeba and Mount Molloy.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland has appointed Fiona Nicholl to the Tourism Recovery Officer role funded by the Federal and State Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

Scenic boat transfers between Cairns and Port Douglas for just $50 and a stunning inland drive are the easiest way to get to Port Douglas for the summer break you’ve been waiting for.