“Great” is the buzzword for a new tourism branding for the Far North launched yesterday by Tropical Tourism North Queensland (TTNQ) as the industry deals with the impacts of coronavirus on the back of the southern bushfires.

The new branding aims to put the Far North in the spotlight and drive visitors to the area.

TTNQ launched the destination name “Cairns & Great Barrier Reef” for the region which will encompass Cardwell to the Torres Strait and west across the Savannah Way to the Northern Territory border including the Douglas Shire.

Almost 300 members of the region’s tourism and business community, and guests Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones and Tourism and Events Queensland Chief Executive Officer Leanne Coddington, attended the launch at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre yesterday.

TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said visitors will leave the region as custodians, revitalised by the beauty of nature and its connection to ancient Indigenous culture and would discover that the place never leaves them.

He said visitors will:
• See Great – through remarkable experiences
• Feel Great – through making a genuine connection with the place
• Leave Greater – as a person and by knowing that every visit makes a difference.

“Experiencing our great makes visitors greater. From our Great Barrier Reef to our great ancient rainforests and our great Indigenous culture, visitors are transformed for life,” Mr Olsen said.

Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree (TPDD), Tara Bennett, said she was pleased to see the new direction TTNQ is taking with the regions branding.

"The Port Douglas and Daintree region is very well positioned to benefit from the new focus, particularly with the leading position we’ve taken in sustainable tourism," she said.

"TPDD will work closely with TTNQ to align our messaging and leverage off the broad range of activities being rolled out.”

With the impact of coronavirus growing, TTNQ is concentrating on working with trade and airline partners to drive sales with a focus on the domestic and drive markets to regain lost visitor spend.

A television commercial is in production and there is a public relations campaign including a familiarisation program for Australian travel writers, as well as social media and digital activity through TTNQ’s channels.

“Cairns & Great Barrier Reef offers guilt-free travel through initiatives like the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Environmental Charge where visitors contribute towards the Reef’s conservation,” he said.