Visitor numbers increase by almost 7%
TOURISM
Port Douglas continues to be a sought-after destination for domestic holidays despite adverse publicity surrounding coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, crocodiles, heavy rainfall and flooding.
And according to Tourism Research Australia (TRA), domestic overnight visitation to the Port Douglas Daintree region has grown by almost 7% in the 2017/18 financial year.
TRA figures showed overnight domestic stays increased from 1.67 million for the year ending 2017 to 1.78 million in 2018. The average length of stay was 5.3 nights.
International overnight stays increased to 6.5 nights, bringing a combined total for both domestic and international visitors to 691,000.
Tara Bennett, Executive Officer of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree (TPDD), said it was a great result that both the domestic and international markets were trending upwards.
“Despite strong competition from international markets with aggressively priced airfare and holiday packages, as well as capacity restriction into Cairns Airport in the domestic market, Port Douglas has continued to see growth,” she said.
“Our marketing activities have targeted the domestic traveller and specific international source markets as well as business events and destination weddings.
“This year we focused on sourcing more cooperative marketing opportunities to provide subsidised campaigns for members and increase the region’s direct to consumer reach.
“This has helped us achieve marketing outcomes well beyond our budget and organisation’s small size.”
Ms Bennett said the organisation’s key priorities were destination marketing and promotion, leadership in the digital space, research and opportunity analysis, stakeholder liaison and collaboration and industry development.
Highlights included new branding for the destination following research into the perceptions of the destination and key positioning points.
Meanwhile, at last week’s annual meeting, Ben Woodward was appointed TPDD chair and Megan Bell vice chair.
The new TPDD board:
Ben Woodward
Director of Sales & Marketing, CaPTA Group - Chair and Elected General Director
Megan Bell
Media and Business Events Manager, Quicksilver Group – Vice Chair and Elected General Director
Julia Leu
Mayor Douglas Shire Council - Douglas Shire Director
Steve Molnar
General Manager, Sheraton Grand Mirage Port Douglas - Elected Port Douglas Zone Director
Ben Pratt
General Manager, Mossman Gorge Centre – Elected Mossman & Daintree Village Zone Director
Abigail Ralph
Operations & Administration Manager, Daintree Discovery Centre - Elected Cape Tribulation Zone Director
Liz Schibig-Edgar
Owner/Manager, Paradise Links Resort - Elected General Director
Sheena Walshaw
Managing Director, Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours - TTNQ Director
Video editing by Alison George at Catseye Productions
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