Page 27 - Tropic Magazine Issue 17

TROPIC • TOURISM

Branding Cairns

SPECIAL REPORT
Tourism leaders embark on a
renewed PR plan to sell Tropical
North Queensland to the world.

Words Renee Cluff
A recent downturn in tourist numbers
and the suspension of China Southern
Airlines’ Cairns service, has spurred
tourism stakeholders into action. three flights a week out of there.
Representatives of organisations Something’s not clicking somewhere.”
including the Cairns Airport, Tourism The comments follow a call to arms
Tropical North Queensland and the from Syrian businessman Ghassan TTNQ and the tourism
Cairns Convention Centre met with Aboud who’s invested $600 million in
the Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Cairns through the construction of his industry need to step
Jones in March, and are promising a three luxury Crystalbrook Collection up and lead. We need a
continuing, unified response to the hotels.
challenges the industry’s facing. “We should all be involved in this case strategy and a budget.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning told Tropic to attract visitors through providing Then we all need to work
the city needs to lift its game. an environment and experiences together and map out how
“Over the past 15 to 20 years, where that international guests expect,” Mr
we’ve come from in regards to Aboud said. “Two years ago, I met we get to that budget.
international inbound and where the Premier and the Council was Do we need $10 million?
also with us and I told them that my
job as a businessman was to see the $25 million? Whether it’s
buildings come out of the ground but raised through a bed tax
The industry needs to have a it’s your job to go and sell the city. As or rates levy or airport tax,
good, hard think and talk within a businessman, it’s hard to sell the along with a contribution
city. Unfortunately since then, we’ve
the family and talk with the had a lot of promises, but we’ve seen from Tourism and Events
airlines about issues including nothing.” Queensland to match
marketing and branding. According to Cairns CQU academic it... whatever it is, let’s
Bruce Prideaux, a complete
reassessment of the way the region is
Bob Manning, marketed is needed. “There are two get the strategy and the
Cairns Mayor
ways of doing a tourism product,” he budget first and then we’ll
we are today is a bit of a sad story,” told Tropic. “We can say ‘look we’ve got work out how we raise
he said. “The industry needs to have something to sell,’ and market the heck
a good, hard think and talk within out of it or we can ask people what the money. It’s simple
the family and talk with the airlines they’re interested in and provide that. business practise.
about issues including marketing In the past, the reef and rainforest
and branding, how we operate in the were working well, but why aren’t
market place and what markets we’re they working well now? What people
going to concentrate on. At its most want from a tourism experience has
simplistic level, there are 1.5 billion changed and we haven’t really listened Mark Davie,
people in China and we can’t fill up to the market.” Crystalbrook Collection

27 • tropicnow.com.au