by Mat Churchill

North Queensland's tourism body launched its new campaign last week at the nation's biggest tourism event.  The Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) was in Adelaide and is the largest international travel trade show in the Southern Hemisphere, allowing tourism businesses to showcase their products, meet overseas contacts and negotiate new deals.

Nearly 90 representatives from the far north are there.  Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) chief executive officer Rob Giason says it will launch its 'Rethink the Reef' campaign, which is about freshening up the far north's image as a tourist destination.

"What we are trying to do through this rethink campaign during the ATE is really jump their mindset and say, 'hey, wait a minute.  You think you might know about the destination but in real terms there's all these other ways that you can actually undertake tours to the reef, the rainforest, the outback'," he said

"We've got just from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef region over 88 companies participating in the Australian Tourism Exchange this year, so it's really a great opportunity for us to sell what we're all about."

Editors Comments: It's interesting to note that there isn't a single mention of Port Douglas in this article that appeared on ABC last week.  Just as we feared as a result of our Council amalgamation it seems that Port Douglas is now also being allowed to lose it's identity within the tourism sector as well.  How long before we'll be considered to be just a day trip from Cairns?  And what is being done to protect us from that, after all Port Douglas is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef isn't it ?