Far North welcomes record number of domestic visitors

Holiday visitation to FNQ hit the 1.4m mark this year and business visitation reached a record arrival rate in a shaking off of the Covid blues. Check out numbers from Tourism Research Australia.

Far North Queensland welcomed a record number of domestic visitors in the past year, according to the latest statistics.

The industry data from Tourism Research Australia showed domestic overnight visitation to Tropical North Queensland reached a record 2.5 million, up 23.3 per cent over the year and 14.6 per cent higher than 2019.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chair, Ken Chapman, said tourism had helped Cairns develop into a vibrant city.

Total domestic overnight visitation to Tropical North Queensland reached a record 2.5 million, up 23.3 per cent over the year and 14.6 per cent higher than 2019 (pre-Covid). Picture: TTNQ

“Covid did great damage to the industry but, bolstered by a huge marketing effort from TTNQ, tourism is back now stronger than ever and delivered $4.3bn in visitor expenditure to our region supporting 24,600 jobs and families in our community over the past year,” Mr Chapman said.

“Armed with a record $10m in domestic funding support from the federal government’s Recovery for Regions program, TTNQ undertook integrated domestic marketing campaigns that achieved $300m in direct campaign-generated visitor spend over the past two years, as well as the indirect promotional benefits that drove so much additional visitation.

“A 30 times direct return on investment and the rapid domestic recovery are outstanding results that demonstrate the huge difference that well-funded and well-managed marketing can make.”

TTNQ chairman Ken Chapman. Picture: Bronwyn Farr

Holiday visitation was up 20 per cent over the year to 1.4m, which is 23.2 per cent higher than 2019, and business visitation reached a record 542,000 visitors, up 43.6 per cent over the year and up 14.6 per cent compared to 2019.

“TTNQ is working closely with Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland to align promotional activity and further support aviation routes through strategic global trade partnerships that will drive international holiday visitor recovery and help grow our regional economy,” Mr Chapman said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk joined local MPs in Cairns on Tuesday to announce industry data across the state.

Cairns MP and Assistant Minister for Tourism Industry Development, Michael Healy, said with the positive results of the $200m investment in attracting international aviation, tourism’s best days were still ahead.

“Tourism is an economic powerhouse in Queensland, driving investment and career opportunities across our vast state. As tourism continues to emerge from Covid, we see Queensland’s dominance in the domestic market grow,” Mr Healy said.

“Whether you work for a big international brand or a small mum and dad business, we get tourism in Queensland.”

Originally published as Far North welcomes record number of domestic visitors