The anchoring of cruise ship Pacific Dawn off Port Douglas has brought a surge of about 1800 paying customers into town.

The Dawn, which is operated by P & O Cruises and conducts a regular tour up and down the coast between Douglas and Brisbane, began unloading passengers via tender at 9am on Tuesday. 

Before they return to the ship at 6pm the travelers are expected to spend a great deal in cafes, shops and with tour operators, in addition to seeing the natural beauty the region has on offer. 

A report commissioned by Tourism Queensland in 2012 found that cruise passengers spent on average $269 each during a one-day visit, with organised tours making up $123 of that total per person. 

By these numbers the 1800 passengers from Pacific Dawn should inject about $480,000 into Port Douglas by the afternoon - not bad for a day’s trading. 

The Joneses, a family of five from Gladstone, had their first visit to Douglas after stepping off the tender on Tuesday morning.

Mum Kirsten said Douglas was ‘beautiful’ and was a prime target for the travelers. 

“The whole ship is booked out, we had friends that wanted to come with us but couldn’t,” she said. 

“There’s a lot of wedding parties and a lot of people that are interested in the tours and the town.

“It’s beautiful here, it really is, especially the weather, which is terrible in Brisbane at the moment.”

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree head Tara Bennet said it was vital for Douglas to take advantage of the cruise market. 

“Each cruise ship obviously provides quit a dramatic economic boost to the town, particularly for hospitality, retail and the tour operators,” Ms Bennet said.

“We can continue to take advantage of this by showing the visitors a good time - this is important because the passengers provide feedback on each destination to the tour and that rating will be taken into account for the next trip. 

“Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree runs a volunteer greeting committee that welcomes passengers to shore and hands out maps. 

“Douglas is a very popular cruise destination - two years ago Tourism Queensland ran a survey of cruise ports and Douglas was rated the highest, based on our friendliness, immediately available tours and beautiful surroundings.”