‘Tomb of the Pharaohs’ exhibit, promising to boost tourism with immersive Egyptian Adventure

Cairns is set to host a permanent multi-million dollar ancient Egypt exhibition, which owners believe will help boost tourism with an immersive Egyptian adventure.

The Tomb of the Pharaohs experience is coming to the Cairns Aquarium. Picture: Supplied.

Cairns will soon be home to a new multi-million dollar exhibition which could “increase” and re-energise tourism for the region, organisers have said.

The 3D immersive experience called, Tomb of the Pharaohs, will be built on level two at the Cairns Aquarium, converting unused office space into an ancient Egyptian interactive adventure.

Cairns Aquarium CEO and founder Daniel Leipnik said visitors would be transported back to ancient Egypt with more than 300 “stunning” items and museum artefacts throughout 11 galleries.

Tomb of the Pharaohs guided tours, will take place at Morning, twilight and nighttime starting at $99. Picture: Supplied.

“There is a global interest in studying Egyptology, it’s either a passion a hobby or just something people want to know more about, this topic doesn’t go away, it’s one of the richest periods of civilisation humanity has ever seen,” he said.

The new attraction will allow visitors to explore recreated tombs of some of the most famous ancient Egyptian Pharaohs such as King Tutankhamun, Queen Nefertari and Ramses IV.

Cairns Regional Council approved permits to transform 400 square meters of office space on the second floor of the Florence St attraction into a new exhibition area. Picture: Supplied.

Each “tomb” will be filled with a blend of genuine artefacts and authenticated illustrative examples.

In addition, several millions of dollars have been allocated to new technology from the United States which include 3D multimedia projections and augmented reality, as well as 2D colour light projections.

“There’s going to be 2D coloured light projections on 3D surfaces, multimedia projections on screens and scanning device where you can basically CT scan a skeleton inside a coffin,” Mr Leipnik said.

The entrepreneur also drew reference to past successful exhibitions at major cities in both Sydney and Melbourne, such as the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition, which brought in more than 500,000 visitors within six months and generated more than $100m.

Construction is set to start soon, with the design phase wrapping up by the end of October, Daniel Leipnik expects a grand opening in June 2025. Picture: Brendan Radke

The King Tut exhibition in Melbourne, 11 years ago had just under a whopping 800,000 visitors.

With construction set to begin in a few months time, Mr Leipnik said the museum was on track for a grand opening in June 2025.

“By end of October the design stage will be finished, construction then starts straight after that,” he said.

“All the artefacts and museum grade replicas will be arriving January and February and then all the walls will get covered in all of their decorations, wraps and theming of recreated hieroglyphs and rock work.”

Mr Leipnik said the exhibition could increase the length of stay for tourists because it would give people “something additional” to see.

“It’ll increase the expenditure because there is more that they can see and a really important thing is it gives people who have previously been here, a new reason to come back,” he said.

Tickets prices will range from $29 for children aged 3-14 years old and adults $48, guided tours will also be available from $99.

Originally published as ‘Tomb of the Pharaohs’ exhibit, promising to boost tourism with immersive Egyptian Adventure