Tourism Tropical North Queensland

Cairns will host the 2025 CAPA - Centre for Aviation Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific at the Cairns Convention Centre on 31 July and 1 August bringing leaders from the aviation, tourism and hospitality industries to the region to shape the future of air travel. It is the first time the event has been held outside a capital city providing the opportunity to demonstrate to key decision makers why Cairns should be their next aviation route. TTNQ is sponsoring the conference as a strategic event for the destination’s future that will also deliver an immediate $1.2 million economic boost while the 400 delegates are in region. #CairnsAirport

Japan’s key decision makers in overseas travel were targeted at special event called ‘Where to Next? Cairns’ for 30 Japanese travel influencers. TTNQ worked with community media platform Tabimuse to target Japanese women in the 20s and 30s to choose Cairns for a holiday. The event participants generated numerous posts and extensive reach for the destination.

The Port of Cairns will welcome a record 99 cruise ships this year, including four new cruise liners. Ports North General Manager of Strategy Paul Doyle and TTNQ CEO Mark Olsen welcomed 4000 passengers and crew to Cairns today on Carnival Splendour and Silver Muse. Cruise ship visits to Cairns and Yorkeys Knob in 2023-24 injected $213.7 million into the economy, up 40 per cent from the previous year.

TTNQ Members attending the Japan Mission took the opportunity to see how Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is being promoted at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan’s new Great Barrier Reef exhibit. The exhibit includes images of the Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland and 12 members have promoted the destination to corporate and education group sales staff in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka on a joint Cairns and Gold Coast Japan Mission with 23 companies over five days. They had 164 appointments and businesses meetings with 350 travel agents who are receiving many inquiries for the second half of 2025.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland continues to demonstrate our leadership in sustainable and regenerative tourism by publishing our first annual Sustainability Report. Charting the extensive work we have undertaken in 2024 and identifying our priority actions for 2025, the report launches this week. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/gVhb8bhm

A “zero waste” stand built by NQ Exhibitions drew the attention of the 640 buyers attending AIME, the largest business events trade show in Asia Pacific, in Melbourne this week. The Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef team were joined by a record 14 members on the stand to share why Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is the natural place to meet.

Tourism and Events Queensland’s Global Market Briefings are underway in Cairns with Assistant Tourism Minister Bree James, TTNQ CEO Mark Olsen and TEQ Acting CEO Ollie Philpot attending. The morning started with TEQ discussing the campaign activity underway this week to stimulate the domestic market including a Qantas campaign offering 50% off Queensland flights for two people or more.

TTNQ’s European trade representative Annette Kalthoff met with key Swiss industry partners at the travel show FESPO and Golfmesse Zurich in late January. With 42,000 visitors and 500 exhibitors, the show was an outstanding success, and long-haul operators said were very satisfied with the inquiries and bookings for this financial year. Swiss travellers disperse well throughout the region and stay longer making them a key high-value traveller for Tropical North Queensland.

A second hectare of tree kangaroo habitat has been planted 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. TTNQ hosted the 2025 Mabi Forest Planting Day in partnership with Reforest and Terrain NRM at Wongabel on the Atherton Tablelands where a buffer of trees has been planted alongside the Kennedy Highway and revegetation is underway beside existing forest. About 40 tourism industry representatives helped to plant 3150 trees at the Mabi site which will remove 637 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 25 years.