A stretch of the Captain Cook Highway from Cairns to Cape Tribulation will be known as the Great Barrier Reef Drive and is set to rival Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

While governments, together with the tourism industry, continue to invest in infrastructure and services development to promote growth in self drive visitation, the rebranding of 140km stretch of the Captain Cook Highway plans to highlight the touring route providing a platform to promote other experiences along the route advised Tourism Port Douglas Daintree executive officer Tara Bennett.

“Drive tourism has been identified as one of the key growth areas for Queensland tourism in the next five years. The branding of the Great Barrier Reef Drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation aims to highlight the spectacular touring route which many visitors know nothing of prior to arriving in the region,” said Bennett.

In the coming year it is reported that Tourism Australia will be focusing much of their activity on the Great Barrier Reef and coastal aquatic themes.

“The Great Barrier Reef Drive provides an enormous opportunity for our region to leverage off the significant investment that will be made by Tourism Australian and Tourism Events Queensland,” she said.

As one of the four pillars, tourism has been identified by the Queensland Government as one of the most productive sectors of the economy with the potential for strong growth. It is reported the government is committed to developing the state’s drive tourism sector.

Businesses in rural and regional communities rely on income from drive tourists (on stopovers), as they are often encouraged to buy local tourism products and services, and basic travel necessities like fuel, food and other supplies.

Mayor Julia Leu said the change of name will also help attract marketing dollars from the State and Federal Government to promote the region to the lucrative drive market.

“The rebranding is not so much about officially changing the name of the road, it’s more about using more descriptive language and encouraging tourism operators, retailers and wholesalers to promote this stretch of highway as the Great Barrier Reef Drive to give it a higher profile with tourists,” said Mayor Leu.

“The drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation is without a doubt one of the most spectacular, if not the most spectacular, in Australia and deserves greater recognition,” she said.

While there are no plans for an “official launch” of the rebranded name it is reported there is a lot of work to be done developing content as well as working with stakeholders on infrastructure requirements and possible signage.

“In regards to signage, this is an issue Council will continue to liaise with government and tourism industry stakeholders about,” said Mayor Leu.