Council, business leaders and community stakeholders have been working hard in recent years to strengthen our region’s international trade and economic ties. Pleasingly, we are now seeing the fruits of our labours.

Last month, Cairns was a clear destination of choice for some 1400 Chinese tourists celebrating the Lunar New Year, providing a welcome boost for our tourism and retail sector.

Singapore’s Aspial Corporation has begun work of its $400 million CBD project, and the Aquis resort proposal remains firmly on the table. Council will work with the newly elected Queensland Government and the proponent to progress the venture in the most appropriate way for our region’s benefit.

In another clear sign of investor confidence, on Tuesday this week, Golden Lakes NQ officially opened their $122+ million Golden Lakes/Forrest Mountain Development at Paradise Palms. This is Queensland’s largest private development outside of the south-east corner and all lots in Stage 1 have been contracted. Construction of Stage 2 (202 residential apartments) is set to commence this July.

We are also working to reinvigorate ties with the Japanese holiday travel market, which along with trade exports, is undergoing a resurgence after some years of decline. Last week I joined TTNQ and Cairns Airport on a trade mission to meet with Japanese tourism industry leaders. This was a productive visit and confirmed that Cairns still has a very strong reputation in Japan as a safe and trusted holiday destination.

There is enormous potential to increase our share of the Japanese visitor market, and we will continue working to build on these and other opportunities.

Bob Manning
Mayor
Cairns Regional Council