Big-picture thinking to fore
BERNARD Salt is crunching the numbers and stretching his vocal cords as a very big day for Future Tourism draws near – and he wants as many Cairns locals as possible to be there.
The renowned demographer will be keynote speaker at the Wednesday, February 12, lunch at the Cairns Convention Centre alongside Tourism Minister Kate Jones, Entrada Travel Group CEO John Thorburn and TTNQ chief executive officer Mark Olsen.
“The Australian tourism industry and regions are particularly keen on big-picture thinking,” Mr Salt said.
“It’s been brought home how dependent these regions are on confidence that can be
CAIRNS Airport bosses are acutely aware how much is riding on their ability to reel in new international flight routes – but the responsibility is not theirs alone.
The airport is in discussions with 22 airlines about freight and passenger capacity in areas including North America, Korea, Taipei, Malaysia, the Middle East, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
“There is a large under-demand from international travellers who want to visit Cairns but don’t because of the inconvenience of not being able to fly direct, and we are looking to address that,” an airport spokeswoman said.
Freight capacity is increasingly becoming a make-orbreak factor for airlines considering long-haul flights to distant Cairns – and facilities are sorely lacking.
“Asian markets offer significant export opportunity for our region, as seen with the new freight services through Air Niugini and Qantas,” the spokeswoman said.
The 2021-22 completion of the State Government’s new $10 million export centre at the airport cannot come soon enough, according to demographer Bernard Salt.
He said the numbers shaken by a natural disaster like a bushfire, or events beyond our shores like coronavirus, or trade wars.
“So it’s natural that an economy like Far North Queensland would be vitally interested in big-picture thinking about the future, and what we need to do as a community to build resilience and assure our prosperity.
“For that reason, February 12 is a big event.”
The lunch will feature lively discussion among a panel of experts all focused on paving a way forward for what is one of Far North Queensland’s most critical industries – and will serve as the icing on the cake following the Cairns Post’s Future Tourism series.
Tickets are $99 and can be bought online at cairnspost.com.au/tickets