Page 57 - Tropic Magazine Issue 20

TROPIC • URBAN AFFAIRS

7 Know our brand

5 Amazing Wi-Fi The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. The Greatest City on
Earth. I NY. New York City knows who it is and sells it to the
I didn’t buy a data plan for my visit to NYC world. Sure, the city’s origins stretch back nearly 400 years when
so my only connection to the digital world it was called New Amsterdam – that’s a lot of rich history and
(hello, Google Maps) relied entirely on free local culture to draw on. But they’ve honed their brand, embraced
Wi-Fi – and it was absolutely everywhere. their unique attributes and marketed themselves, non-stop. On
From hotels to the subway, from the a much smaller scale, we need to do the same. Not just from a
streets and parks to the stores I shopped tourist perspective, but for locals as well.
in, free high-speed internet was available
when and where I needed it. We all know
Australia is hopelessly behind when it TIP Work together to map and design who we are and
comes to internet speeds and access, what we represent as a city and share the Brand Cairns
so maybe there’s a niche for Cairns and consistently and relentlessly - and be proud of our unique
local businesses - particularly the CBD place in the world.
- to become the nation’s best Wi-Fi city.
Tourists and locals will love us for it.

TIP Set a target to become Australia’s
best free Wi-Fi city.

8 Art and culture is
big business
Of so many sights and attractions in NYC,
museums and galleries are among the most
popular. We don’t have galleries bursting with
works by Picasso, Warhol, Basquiat and Van
6 Popeye’s chicken sandwich Gogh - let alone awe-inspiring buildings like
the Guggenheim to display them in - but we
In welcome respite from the depressing 24-hour news cycle do have something few places in the world
featuring President Trump, gun violence and racial disharmony, can claim such provenance over – Indigenous
my visit to NYC coincided with a seriously intense debate about and Torres Strait art and culture. It’s been
fried chicken burgers, or sandwiches as they’re called. Fast talked about for a long time, but it’s patently
food chain Popeye’s had just launched – and promptly sold out insane that Cairns hasn’t stepped up and
of – a new fried chicken sandwich, sparking desperate searches set a vision to be the nation’s epicentre of
by customers, in-depth media analysis and serious rivalry Indigenous art in all its ancient and modern
with competing chains offering similar burgers. It was all a forms. And not just locally produced art from
bit ridiculous, of course, but it was fun and pointed to a foodie Tropical North Queensland; I’m talking about
phenomenon we don’t see here in Cairns – the viral food hit. a truly national showcase. Cairns Indigenous
When was the last time you visited a favourite local restaurant Art Fair is a great starting point, but we need
or café for that one special menu item you crave above all else? something permanent and spectacular to
draw the crowds in. Just look what MONA has
TIP Local restaurants and cafes can get creative and offer done for Tasmania.
up one very special, must-have dish on their menu and
encourage customers to spread the word and create the TIP Build Australia’s most magnificent
marketing buzz for them – which will happen if it’s super Indigenous art and culture museum.
delicious and unique.

57 • tropicnow.com.au