More than 100 corporate meeting planners, incentive houses, PCOs, and DMCs attended the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Business Events Regional Showcase last week.
The showcase took place in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, on August 1, 3, and 4, where planners got to learn more about the business events capabilities of Cairns, and the surrounding Queensland region, from 20 team members from Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
Attendees were also gifted a tree to increase the habitat of tree kangaroos on the Atherton Tablelands in Tropical North Queensland as a thank you for attending the event.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s general manager of partnerships and events, Rosie Douglas, said: “Cairns has already hosted key conferences this year such as Cannes in Cairns and the Third International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference which exceeded expected delegate numbers thanks to the choice of destination.”
The business events industry is also buoyed by the expansion of the Cairns Convention Centre, which adds 10,500m2 of meeting space including a rooftop banquet room and terrace, three new meeting rooms, an exhibition space, and plenary room.
“Accommodation, meeting spaces, restaurants and the Reef Fleet Terminal are all within walking distance in Cairns city which is just a 10-minute drive from the airport ensuring minimal requirements for transport,” added Douglas. There are also more than 2,000 tours available for pre- and post-event planning.
Prior to the pandemic, the business events industry supports one in five jobs in Tropical North Queensland.
“Each business event delegate is worth almost three times that of a leisure visitor and they help to fill our destination’s shoulder season, often returning with their family as a leisure visitor to enjoy our diverse natural tourism experiences,” added Douglas.
