More domestic travellers will visit Tropical North Queensland as the equivalent of 50 full 737-800 planes of interstate passengers will arrive before November 20. The boost comes off the back of a successful campaign to help generate an additional $15 million in visitor spending for the destination.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the campaign had offered interstate travellers booking through Webjet a $100 flight subsidy with the initiative receiving grant funding from the Australian Government, under the Recovery for Regional Tourism program administered by Austrade.
“Around 30,000 people a day were searching for flights to Cairns during July and the offer to get $100 off their fare helped more than 10,000 to make the decision to travel before the Christmas school holidays,” Mark Olsen said.
“The June/July school holidays were very busy in Tropical North Queensland and we are looking forward to seeing that repeated in the September/October holidays with the discounted flights helping to push numbers up in between those peak times.
“The lure of a warm tropical holiday in a destination where nature is the backdrop for transformative world-class experiences is swaying Australians to rediscover Tropical North Queensland.
“Places like Port Douglas, Palm Cove, Cape York and the Savannah Way booked out quickly during the school holiday periods and those who decided to stay in Cairns city, the Atherton Tablelands and the Cassowary Coast were delighted with what they found.
“Each region has its own personality – whether it’s quiet beaches and islands on the Cassowary Coast or crater lakes and food trails on the Tablelands – and visitors are realising they need to come back and explore more of Tropical Norths Queensland’s World Heritage Areas.
“International visitors have started to trickle back with the addition of direct flights from New Zealand and Japan last month, but we are still a long way from recouping the $1 billion international travel market for the destination so need to continue to drive demand for domestic visitation.”
This initiative received grant funding from the Australian Government, under the Recovery for Regional Tourism program administered by Austrade.
