Karen’s wonder at Reef day out

THE tweeting fingertips of the US Second Lady have given the Cairns tourism industry a level of publicity money cannot buy.

While US Vice President Mike Pence was engaged in APEC negotiations in Papua New Guinea, his wife Karen was soaking up the sights of Far North Queensland.

She visited Little Fitzroy Island and the Great Barrier Reef, danced with indigenous performers at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and attended a function in her honour at the Pullman Cairns International.

Best of all, she used her Twitter account to tell the story – which was in turn shared by her husband to his 6.75 million followers.

Speaking at her official reception, hosted by the US Embassy, Mrs Pence vowed to spruik the region “back home” and praised the Far North’s tropical beauty.

After first charming the crowd with a “g’day mate”, Mrs Pence said she was “still on cloud nine” hours after her Reef encounter.

“I’m just going to brag a little bit right here because I was swimming around and I saw a yellow boxfish … it kind of played with us a little bit,” she said. “It was really, really spe- cial, quite a memory that I’ll never forget.

“I know that tourism and hospitality are crucial to the economy in Cairns. I can tell you I will be telling everyone back home to put Queensland on their bucket list.”

Barron River MP Craig Crawford welcomed the duo when they arrived at Cairns Airport on Friday night.

He was due to farewell them yesterday morning but the engagement was cancelled.

Mr Crawford predicted the Second Lady’s stay would result in greater exposure for the region.

“It gives us a good reputation as a safe place to visit,” he said.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said other world leaders, believed to include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese president Xi Jinping, also transited through Cairns during the summit.

“We put a lot of effort into making people feel welcome, and it pays off,” he said. “Mrs Pence’s decision to go out on the Reef – that is the one thing that will have the biggest impact on our community.”

Tjapukai general manager Shirley Hollingsworth said it was an honour to be chosen to host Mrs Pence.

“It’s put us all on the map – not just Tjapukai, but all of Cairns and the Far North.”