General News
17 October, 2022
Success Follows Success
TOURISM Port Douglas Daintree is celebrating after looking back on a successful year following the COVID-19 pandemic slump.
Tara Bennett, TPDD chief executive officer, told attendees at Wednesday’s annual general meeting at Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort and Spa that the year had kicked off to a positive start with the signing of a three-year funding agreement with Douglas Shire Council worth $1.4 million.
“The agreement was the precursor for a highly productive collaboration on a range of COVID support programs, industry development and sustainability projects,” Ms Bennett said.
She said travellers spending big in the regional hot spot had aided the recovery.
According to Tourism Research Australia’s latest released data, $5.7 billion more was spent on domestic travel across Australia than in the same period in 2019, with $3.8 billion finding its way to regional areas.
The Daintree Rainforest, Port Douglas, Mossman and Cape Tribulation were hotspots, sharing 58,000 more trips than in 2019, making it the second-highest Australian growth area.
This data was reflected in the region’s financial year highlights.
Domestic visits to the Port Douglas and Daintree region for the year ending June 22 was 380,661, up 14 per cent on the 2018-2019 financial year, while visitors nights were up 25 per cent compared to 2019, at 2,178,155, just 7% short of the full year results in 2019 inclusive of international travellers.
Ms Bennett acknowledged support from Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) and the Cairns Airport marketing partnership, which has been pivotal in the region’s recovery efforts.
Marketing campaign activity included the distribution of 156,000 ‘Discover Paradise’ visitor guides into Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and North Queensland, business events content development with a brand relaunch and website redesign, and the ‘Summer in the Tropics’ campaign.
The campaign reached 892,000 and generated 21,000 social media clicks, while ‘Summer Lives On’ generated 3.3 million impressions and 36,000 link clicks.
“Our achievements following the pandemic are a great cause for celebration, and we are grateful to our collaborators, especially Douglas Shire Council, TTNQ and Cairns Airport,” Ms Bennett said.
