Long-awaited tourists arrive

WHILE it wasn’t your average July end-of-school holiday weekend in the Far North in terms of visitor numbers, it was a marked improvement on the “ghost-town” atmosphere that has prevailed during much of the COVID-19 crisis to date.

The state government’s relaxation of border restrictions (to all except Victoria) has allowed Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar to come to the party and deliver southern tourists longing for a tropical escape from the horrors of lockdown.

While business owners would be smiling at having punters through the door at the region’s cafes, bars and restaurants, they’re a long way from recouping what they’ve lost from missing out on a full tourist season.

Authorities are working hard to ensure the gains the community has made are not lost with the police manning the airports and health workers running a pop-up clinic in the city’s most iconic location, the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon.

Vigilance will be important in the weeks and months ahead if the Far North is to continue to enjoy the custom of our southern brothers and sisters. If there is one thing the sad events have taught us is that it doesn’t take much for the COVID-19 “genie” to be let out of the bottle.

The timing of the TTNQ/Virgin media trip couldn’t be better with participants off to visit a cavalcade of FNQ delights such as the Reef, Daintree Food Trail, Kuranda Railway and gin tasting at Three Wolves.

While the world has shrunk a little given the virtual elimination of overseas travel, there is still a lot of competition for tourism dollars among other homegrown destinations.

So it’s important to spread the word of FNQ’s inherent beauty that we may sometimes take for granted.

Andrew Graham andrew.graham@news.com.au