Preparation of a Cruise Shipping Industry Strategy for Cairns by the State Government will help shape future tourism trends for the region, Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier said.
 
Cr Schier welcomed the recent announcement by Ports Minister Craig Wallace and Cairns MP Desley Boyle and offered the council’s cooperation wherever possible.
 
“The cruise shipping industry is significant in an evolving Cairns tourism sector,” Cr Schier said.
 
“This plan by the State Government to address the future needs of the Cairns port as a major cruising destination signals a commitment to the security and, indeed, expansion of our tourism sector and local economy.
 
“People will travel the world for the opportunity to cruise through waters as pristine as ours and to step ashore at a port as welcoming as Cairns.
 
“We want to be the ‘first port of call’ for people sailing into Australian waters, offering a warm greeting and whetting their appetite to explore what our region and the rest of our amazing country has to offer.
 
“We need to have a plan in place to ensure the increasing trend of cruise ship visits to our region continues well into the future and this proposed strategy will no doubt be integral in any further development of facilities and marketing opportunities.
 
"This announcement is unlikely to have any negative impact on the Port Douglas cruising industry, as they are viewed as very separate destinations, each catering to its own market and demographic. It may, in the long term, result in fewer vessels mooring at Yorkey's Knob, as they would be able to dock in Cairns," Cr Schier said.
 
Cr Schier says she encourages the growth of the tourism industry across the Far North and would welcome any initiative with that objective.