Bullish bid to lure Chinese to Far North

AN AMBITIOUS tourism campaign to lure 400,000 Chinese Australians to Queensland for Lunar New Year celebrations has been launched to boost the state’s struggling tourism economy.

Tourism and Events Queensland has partnered with Trip.com and Alipay to offer discounted packages to Cairns and the Far North ahead of Chinese New Year on February 12.

“Queensland is Good to Go for a memorable Lunar New Year to celebrate the Year of the Ox,” Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said.

“Cairns has long been the destination of choice for Lunar New Year among travellers from mainland China.

“With the Australian border closed we’re reaching out to more than 400,000 Chinese Australians from Melbourne and regional Victoria to join us in Queensland as we light the lanterns and prepare the dragons for a festival of celebration.”

Australia’s retail and hospitality sectors are expected to suffer a $1.4bn financial hit this Lunar New Year due to the absence of cashed-up international tourists from China.

The state government hopes the latest campaign will encourage Chinese Australians to holiday in the Far North and boost Cairns’ struggling tourism economy.

Passions of Paradise reef tour operator Alan Wallish hoped the “out of the box” idea would lure desperately-needed customers to the region.

“We welcome any and all tourists at anytime but Chinese New Year is always a special time up here,” he said.

Mr Wallish said his boat Passions of Paradise carried 31,000 people out to the reef in 2019, but business was down 70 per cent in 2020. He hoped the campaign would cushion the blow of February and March, which he said was always a “quiet” time.

Cairns MP Michael Healy said the campaign would showcase the region’s offerings, including the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritagelisted rainforests.