Spruiking FNQ’s holiday drawcards before 2032 Olympics top priority for Qld’s new industry head
The state’s new tourism industry boss has her sights fixed on the Far North’s role in building the state’s tourism economy before the 2032 Olympics.
Cairns
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Promoting the Far North’s tourism drawcards in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics is a top priority for the state’s new industry head.
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Patricia O’Callaghan has been in the role for just three weeks but she’s already visited Cairns, touching down on Sunday to speak with tourism operators about the future of the region’s keystone industry.
Positioning the state as a destination of choice in both domestic and international tourists’ minds heading into 2032 is her Star of Bethlehem and Ms O’Callaghan said Cairns is a critical part of the plan.
“This is the biggest marketing stage a state can ever have and it’s a once in a lifetime,” Ms O’Callaghan said.
“It is Brisbane 2032, but this is a Queensland opportunity and how we showcase all the destinations in Queensland to those billions of eyeballs that will be watching us, not just for the two weeks of the games but the nine years of lead-up, is important.
“Organisations like TTNQ will have a very strong voice in the marketing strategy for the Olympics.”
Ms O’Callaghan said there were hurdles for the region’s tourism industry to jump over on the road to the Games.
“There’s some headwinds coming our way,” she said.
“Coming out of Covid, it’s a highly competitive market.
“Partnerships and creativity are key to cutting through that. We need to think about how we can position ourselves differently in an exceptionally competitive market.
“It’s about ensuring we have strong marketing to keep us top of mind and then working with partners in trade and aviation to convert, that’s the critical piece.”
Ms O’Callaghan said the state government’s $44 billion visitor economy target by 2032, an additional $16 billion on top of the industry’s current value, would be achieved through a focus on indispensable pieces of tourism infrastructure in Cairns.
“In-bounds are not meeting the number of Australians choosing an international holiday. We need to get that international market firing, that has to be a focus for the next 12 months. That’s where the airports are key,” she said.
“Aviation access is going to be crucial for the recovery and growth of the industry.
“International visitation to Cairns is sitting just under 30 per cent, so we’ve got a lot of work to do to rebuild.”
The Far North earned record visitation and revenue from tourism in 2022, but Ms O’Callaghan said the region could expect to benefit further as Asian markets emerged from the deep winter slumber of lockdown policies.
“For Cairns, re-establishing China and Japan are very big markets that are very important to the industry here and a very big focus for us at TEQ too,” she said.
“China’s just really reopening now, so making sure we both re-establish and grow that share of the market is so important for international destinations like Cairns.”
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Originally published as Spruiking FNQ’s holiday drawcards before 2032 Olympics top priority for Qld’s new industry head
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