North Queenslanders have their say on Cairns Global Tourism Hub

More than 600 people have already had their say in the first round of community consultation for the Palaszczuk Government’s proposed Tropical North Global Tourism Hub.

Innovation and Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the level of consultation on the proposed Global Tourism Hub in Cairns was impressive.

“This is just the first stage of a comprehensive consultation process to discuss tourism infrastructure that won’t just attract more visitors to north Queensland but will encourage them to stay longer and spend more while they’re here,” Ms Jones said.

“We know how important it is to give visitors a unique experience.

“Cairns has some of the best natural assets on the planet and this proposal is about making sure we have the infrastructure in place to help local business operators capitalise.

“We want this to do for Cairns what the $3 billion Queen’s Wharf project is doing for Brisbane – it’s transforming the city and will create thousands of jobs in years to come.”

The Tropical North GTH is first under the government’s new Global Tourism Hub policy.

Ms Jones said more than 12 national and international proponents had registered their interest in the proposal.

“Armed with the feedback we’ve gathered from locals, we’ll go back to the proponents to request them to consider this input in the proposals they’re developing,” she said.

Some examples of the community’s initial input include; having a unique point of difference like Mona Pavilions in Tasmania, a food hub with an international seafood cooking school and more localised Indigenous story-telling.

A preliminary review of the community’s input also shows interest in the nature of the public realm to be delivered, dredging the port, CBD transport options, building heights and a general desire for a greater variety of tourism/visitor attractions.

Global Tourism Hubs are a strategy to deliver world-class tourism infrastructure. GTHs deliver catalytic projects that support city-building objectives and other complementary projects, while optimising broader gains – especially regional jobs and new investment.

A Tropical North GTH, including a casino, ultimately needs to be within 70km of Cairns, but the government’s preferred site is the Cairns City Port precinct. A Cairns GTH, if chosen, could complement the State’s expansion of the Cairns Convention Centre.

“This initial community engagement is only the beginning of the process and the public will still have opportunities for to give their input when any proponent’s concepts are unveiled,” Ms Jones said. 

“Fundamentally, it’s all about us growing the State’s $25 billion tourism industry – a great industry that supports almost 225,000 jobs in Queensland, especially in our regions.”

Tourism generates $57.4 million a day in overnight visitor expenditure and accounts for more than 15% of all Queensland exports.

For more information, visit www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/major-projects/tropical-north-global-tourism-hub.html

Frequently asked questions:
http://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/major-projects/global-tourism-hubs-frequently-asked-questions.html

Media contact: Jack Harbour 0419 620 447