Business
21 October, 2024
Tourists on way back
INTERNATIONAL visitors are returning to the Far North in improving numbers – now at 62 per cent of 2019 (pre-COVID) figures.
“International numbers are back to 497,000 with a spend of $905.7 million in the region for the past financial year,” said Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive officer Mark Olsen said.
According to Cairns Airport statistics, the rolling 12 months until the end of August showed 612,851 international visitors – up 228,360 or 59.4 per cent on the 12 months to August last year. In the 2018-19 financial year there was a total of 685,980 overseas travellers.
Mr Olsen said Singapore Airlines was the first global carrier to return flights to Cairns and the markets serviced by the airline’s connection to Cairns were showing much stronger signs of recovery.
“The United Kingdom is back to 99 per cent of 2019 volumes with 71,000 visitors, the United States market has returned to 79 per cent with 83,000 visitors and Continental Europe is back to 75 per cent with 119,000,” he said.
Mr Olsen said the strong recovery in those markets followed dedicated campaign activity driven by TTNQ and the airport, in collaboration with Singapore Airlines and trade partners and supported by funding from the federal government’s international tourism recovery program.
More than 84 per cent of international visitors arriving in Tropical North Queensland this year went on to visit multiple regions across Queensland.
Cairns Airport will close out the year with the highly anticipated return of Cathay Pacific services from December 17, rounding out a series of international milestones including the historic arrival of AirAsia Indonesia, the announcement of the first-ever direct connection to Christchurch with Jetstar and resumption of seasonal China Eastern Airlines flights early in 2024.
Critically, the strong performance of Singapore Airlines’ A350 services means the widebody aircraft is scheduled to continue on the Cairns route, airport chief executive officer Richard Barker said.
“Singapore Airlines’ A350 delivers significant economic opportunities to our region, injecting 23,000 extra seats per year from major international markets as well as an additional almost 2500 tonnes of cargo capacity,” he said.
“Retaining a high-quality, widebody aircraft on this key route will unlock further potential for our tourism and trade industries as we head into 2025.”
Mr Barker said it would be bolstered by the start of Cathay Pacific’s seasonal services.
