By Cassandra Pulver

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree executive officer Tara Bennett reported that “the strong results are a testament to the huge investment tour operators make in their product and marketing the sensational visitor experience.

“The growth both in the domestic and international visitor numbers is an excellent result and I expect to see this trend continue as the Australian dollar falls making the destination more affordable for the international market and more attractive to domestic travelers,” said Tara.

There is no denying the low Australian dollar is a contributing factor to the increase in visitor numbers, making our destination accessible to a wider range of travelers both domestic and international.  But it is also worth noting that SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, launched its inaugural flight to Cairns on 30th May offering a non-stop flight from Singapore to Cairns.  Added to that is the introduction of the Philippine Airlines launching flights from Manila to Cairns, Cairns to Aukland from the 1st December last year.

With the introduction of these international flights the routes will stimulate passenger traffic offering both business and first class international flights to Cairns.

While the domestic market is driving the visitor growth, with 264,000 visitors and 1.5 million room nights, it is the international market making the higher spend per visit, showing a good yield in tours and restaurant spends commented Tara.  The international visitors total was 93,168 compared to 81,093 the previous year while the total room nights reached 572,130.

There can be no doubt there is optimism in the market with the 40 million dollar Shertaon Mirage upgrade, the 3 million dollar extensions to The Reef Marina, as well as the investments and significant enhancements at the Daintree Eco Lodge, Combined Club, United Backpackers and Cape Tribulation based business Jungle Surfing and Jungle lodge.  

When you add to this list the 12 million dollars spent last year by local tour operators launching or refurbishing new and existing vessels, Ms Bennett said these significant investments ensured visitors would continue to return to the region.