By Roy Weavers

Aussie funseekers will be lured to Queensland's Tropical North as part of a new $245,000 domestic tourism campaign Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Member for Barron River Steve Wettenhall announced the joint campaign in Cairns today between Tourism Queensland, Virgin Blue/Blue Holidays, Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Cairns Airport. The campaign is scheduled to commence on Sunday 14 March.

"The 'Feel a million miles away in a few hours' themed campaign will incorporate print, online and radio components and aims to attract more visitors to the region to support the local tourism industry through the traditionally slower post-Easter period," Mr Wettenhall said.

"The tactical campaign targeting southerners from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane includes fantastic deals on holidays in Tropical North Queensland with 30 percent off flight and accommodation packages for this time of year."

"This comes o ff the back of the recent highly successful 'Spend more time, not more money' Tourism Queensland campaign which resulted in nearly 7800 room nights and an estimated $5 million in visitor expenditure for the region."

Mr Lawlor added that the past couple of years had been extremely challenging for the Tropical North's tourism industry and the campaign was about keeping the region top of mind as a holiday destination.

"Domestic visitor numbers for the year ending September 2009 indicated that recent campaigns were starting to pay off with Australians heeding the 'holiday at home' message, with approximately 1.6 million Aussies spending $1.7billion on visits to the region, an increase of six and 17 percent respectively," he said.

"In short, it's essential that we continue campaigns such as this that encourage Aussies to rediscover the wonders of Tropical North Queensland's World Heritage-listed reef and rainforest experiences.

"Another great component of the campaign is that it offers participating operators a coordinated and cost-effective approach to generate a real interest and desire for southerners to want to visit the region."

Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Rob Giason said the popularity of Tropical North Queensland as a holiday destination for Australians was strong and was increasing.

"This campaign is well positioned to offer Australians the fun of a short break tropical holiday in easy reach of home, showcasing Cairns, Palm Cove, Port Douglas, Daintree, Mission Beach and the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef," Mr Giason said.

Mr Lawlor said partnering with Virgin Blue/Blue Holidays meant the campaign would include some fantastic package details from destinations along the east coast.

"Virgin Blue currently operates 50 weekly flights into Cairns collectively from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne making the Tropical North an easily accessible destination to visit," he said.

"Funding for the campaign has been made available as part of the Tourism Action Plan to 2012 which will guide Queensland's tourism strategy, help drive more visitors from around the world to holiday in Queensland and support Queensland jobs."

The campaign deals will be available on www.virginblue.com.au/cairns from 14 March for travel available until 30 June 2010.