Upgrade looks like real winner

YESTERDAY, I spent the morning running between two major international conferences, both held within 500m of each other in Cairns’ city centre.

They were the Great Barrier Reef Restoration Symposium, hosted over three days at the Pullman Reef Casino, and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Conference and Meeting, held at the Cairns Convention Centre, also over three days.

Trekking between the two venues, I stumbled upon a third international conference, the International Symposium of Genetics in Aquaculture, a week-long research event being held at the Pullman International.

At each of these conferences, hundreds of people were involved, ranging from delegates who have heralded from far and wide, through to venue organisers and catering staff, supporting the masses.

The spending, of course, doesn’t stop there.

Delegates stay in local hotels and resorts. In their down time, they dine out in local restaurants. They also go shopping for souvenirs.

It’s not hard to see why Cairns’ community and business leaders pushed so hard for government funding for an upgrade of the convention centre, with each major event bringing millions of dollars into the local economy.

Three international meetings in Cairns in just one day has become the standard for our city during winter.

The $176 million upgrade to expand the already well-regarded convention centre will bring more of these important meetings to Far North Queensland, and ultimately allow us to reap more benefits.