Port Douglas is riding the crest of the wave as it benefits from a buoyant tourism sector and a sharp rise in international visitors.

And the latest Hotel Price Index from hotels.com reveals that the average price paid for a hotel room in Port Douglas by all travellers increased by 12 per cent in 2015, the biggest climb of any destination in Australia.

On average, travellers paid $200 per night, $17 above the national average for a hotel room.

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree (TPDD) executive officer Tara Bennett said the figures were due to growing confidence in the Port Douglas and Daintree tourism sector, and an increasing demand for accommodation.

“Cities and towns where hotels were historically expensive, like Darwin, have dropped right off (down 20 per cent on 2014).

“Port Douglas hotel room rates dropped dramatically in the GFC and are now returning to the pre-GFC position. The market mix we have in Port Douglas is one where we are dominated by four or five-star resorts too, and there isn’t as much budget accommodation to balance out the averages,” said Ms Bennett.

But Ms Bennett still urged visitors to the region with smaller budgets to continue vacationing here despite the number of high-end resorts in the market.
“People with smaller budgets should continue coming here as we are in the fortunate position of offering a range of accommodation to suit everyone,” she said.

Hotel and resort operators in Port Douglas are extremely encouraged and the Sheraton Mirage, for example, has confirmed an increase in international guests.
Port Douglas has the fifth-highest average hotel room price of any destination in Australia behind only Uluru, the Whitsunday Islands, Sydney and the Sunshine Coast.

“The growing hotel room rates in Port Douglas are simply a result of the climb in demand,” said Ms Bennett.

She added that it was encouraging to observe that today more than 1,400 people were looking on hotels.com for accommodation in Port Douglas.