WE’VE GOT OUR MOJO BACK
Bali flights take off as FNQ tourism pumps
OUR love for travel has been reborn as FNQ embraces international travel and domestic visitors arrive in numbers not seen in years.
Direct Bali flights from Cairns have been so popular it’s expected a fourth flight a week will be added by July.
Far North operators are rejoicing over solid bookings with Tourism Port Douglas Daintree chief executive Tara Bennett declaring the town had its vibe back.
AN uptick in visitor numbers over the recent Easter break and school holidays has given FNQ tourism operators a spring in their step, with many reporting a healthy increase in bookings.
After two-and-a-half years of the pandemic, business owners have said they are thrilled with a strong return of domestic tourists but said there was still a way to go for international guests to reach pre-Covid levels.
For Passions of Paradise managing director Alan Wallish, a robust rise in the number of tourists booking to head out from Cairns to view, snorkel or scuba the Great Barrier Reef had been fantastic.
“Visitor numbers have been reassuringly strong, we have been booked with solid numbers around 90 people each time,” Mr Wallish said.
“We are very happy as we were concerned that after the Easter rush it would dip and while it has a little, even with the rain, people want to go out and see the Reef.
“People are taking every opportunity to travel, it is the Australian mentality and it’s starting to get a little cold down south, so we would expect Cairns to be very busy.”
Tourism Port Douglas Daintree chief executive Tara Bennett said the town had its vibe back.
“A number of tourism businesses here had their best April on record with the town reporting a 90 per cent plus occupancy,” she said.
“It was amazing and we benefited from the Queenslanders having different holiday dates from other states so we had four busy weeks.
“There’s now that buzz about which has lifted everyone and the forward outlook is very positive, with the region expecting above 80 per cent occupancy from late June to October.”
Tourism Tropical North Queensland general manager Rosie Douglas said forward bookings for accommodation were great for the next five months after a busy month of long weekends.
“Our operators have enjoyed a strong April with occupancy reaching more than 95 per cent over Easter at beachside destinations like Port Douglas and Palm Cove over Easter,” she said.
Quicksilver Group managing director Tony Baker said they had experienced a busier than expected April.
Mr Baker said despite supply chain issues such as food shortages caused by the flooding in the south of the state “causing some scambling”, he felt the industry did an excellent job to make the visitor experience positive. “We are now looking forward to a busy June and July,” Mr Baker said.
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway general manager Richard Berman-Hardman said the improved business over the holidays was “due to a perfect storm of Australians being able to travel domestically and school holidays”.
“We were tracking to where we were before Covid, which is encouraging,” he said. “In April we were 10 per cent up on pre-Covid and well in excess of what were hoping for.”
Crystalbrook regional general manager (hotels) Queensland Joel Gordon said their Cairns hotels and venues reached a 90 to 95 per cent occupancy over the Easter holidays.
“June and July we expect an 85 to 90 per cent occupancy,” he said.