Tour operators in a spin for holiday vouchers

FAR North Queensland will benefit from an estimated $14 million in extra visitor spending over the next three months thanks to the Queensland Government and Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) ‘Cairns Holiday Dollars’ travel voucher lottery.

Around 100,000 Queenslanders entered the 72-hour lottery, which closed yesterday, for a chance to win one of 15,000 vouchers.

The vouchers can be used to claim 50 per cent off any eligible tourism experience in Far North Queensland,excluding accommodation, with a maximum of $200 from each voucher.

The vouchers will be emailed to the lucky winners on Monday and can be used

any time before June 25.

The initiative is well-timed to help struggling tourism businesses make it through the traditional off-season, with the JobKeeper program to end on March 28, and no return of international visitors in sight.

The majority of lottery entrants were from South-East Queensland, which means there should be a big flowon benefit for accommodation providers and other local businesses as visitors increase.

To make the most of the voucher, winners should book experiences worth at least $400 as they can then use the 50 per cent off voucher for its maximum value.

Tour operators across the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region are putting together deals especially to cater for this.

TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the vouchers could be spent on world-class experiences in Cairns and the Northern Beaches, Port Douglas and Daintree, Cooktown and Cape York, the Cassowary Coast, the Atherton Tablelands and the Savannah Way.

“This means a family of four could get $200 off the cost of a trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef, an exclusive tour of the world’s oldest rainforest, or on an epic adventure to Cape York.” he said.

Sunlover Reef Cruises General Manager Greg Erwin said the campaign would make a big difference for them as an Australian-owned company which used to rely heavily on international tourists.

“It’s terrific. We’ve seen

this work successfully in other states so we’re really pleased that it’s happening for Cairns,” he said.

“JobKeeper has been incredibly helpful but what we need is visitors back in the region, so anything that brings people into the region and gets Cairns working again from a tourism perspective is terrific.”

Member for Cairns and Assistant Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the campaign would have lasting benefits.

“We know that once people get a taste of Tropical North Queensland, they can’t get enough, meaning this campaign will help us grow our domestic visitor base long into the future,” he said.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen, Cairns Adventure Group co-owner Roderic Rees and Sunlover Reef Cruises General Manager Greg Erwin (back seat) celebrate the Cairns Holiday Dollars announcement by taking a joy ride with Bad Fishy operators Pat McLoughlin and Adam Fish (front seat). Picture: Tanya Murphy