Cairns tourism business owners look to a good 2023 as more global borders open
A successful summer holiday season has buoyed the region’s tourism and hospitality sectors as they anticipate a positive 2023, but there are warnings major handbrakes on growth will need to be addressed.
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A successful summer holiday season has buoyed the region’s tourism and hospitality sectors as they anticipate a positive 2023, but there are warnings major handbrakes on growth will need to be addressed.
Challenges including high CBD crime rates, attracting staff to a city with a housing shortages, and the increased cost of living could all have a negative impact on visitor numbers, traders say.
Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures owner Angela Freeman said their positive summer business came down to “our hard work.”
“I feel it’s been fairly positive, we had a purple patch with the pent-up demand from domestic travellers, now it's a bit more normal,” she said.
“But anyone who thinks everything is now going to be on a perfect up-curve is kidding themselves.
“This means addressing the obvious elephants in the room, staffing and housing. To attract good staff we need to provide somewhere they can live.”
Ms Freeman said the rising cost of living and inflation will also have an impact.
“The overseas student market is often underestimated too,” she said.
“But we are hearing the back end of 2023 will be stronger for international travel.”
At Little Sister Restaurant and Cocktail Bar co-owner Carlton Horn said they traded well over the 2022 Christmas and holiday season but not as strongly as 2021.
“I think it may not be super busy from now until Easter, but it should go well,” he said.
“Over the 2021 Christmas period we were very busy due to the lack of overseas travel options.
“But in 2022 people who had not seen their family for three years did so.”
Cairns Night Markets centre manager Mark Stanley said the popular tourist destination was hopeful for a good 2023 but warned crime issues needed to be addressed.
“As far as the shopkeepers are concerned, I think they are cautiously optimistic,” he said.
“They have been around long enough to know their good quality customer base comes from the European, US and Japanese markets and this is needed to have a return to normality as the domestic market are not big spenders.”
Mr Stanley said crime in the CBD must be fixed.
“Crime does have a very negative impact on business,” he said.
“The elephant in the room is drunken teenagers in the city, this needs to be stopped as it affects tourism.”
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said China’s announcement that its border opened on January 8 boosted industry sentiments.
“It was a welcome New Year surprise, bringing instant optimism that international travel would have a better chance of rebounding in the coming year,” he said.
“With two-way quarantine-free travel from China to Queensland for the first time in three years, TTNQ has escalated our work in the China market”.
Mr Olsen said airline connections and capacity are far short of pre-pandemic levels
“We anticipate this will improve in their summer season from late March,” he said.
“We are just five months away from our first new international flight connection for 2023, Virgin Australia’s direct flight to Haneda Airport.”
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Originally published as Cairns tourism business owners look to a good 2023 as more global borders open
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