A natural meetings habitat
CMW heads north by north-west into Australia ’ s tropical Northern Queensland to find an eco events system ready to welcome back visitors
he Tourism Tropical North Queensland ( TTNQ ) tourism bureau sees one of its main tasks as ensuring the region remains pristine with eco-sustainable goals and practices in place .
The Cairns & Great Barrier Reef business events industry is a committed custodian of two World Heritage-listed icons ; the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest . Local industry professionals are committed to helping event organisers , companies and delegate who choose Cairns & Great Barrier Reef for their business event , to reduce their environmental impact , stage events with purpose , and give back as part of their event .
The region is home to the highest number of eco-sustainable accredited tourism operators in Australia , 61 operators .
The bureau ’ s message is that coming to see the Great Barrier Reef is one of the single best ways you can help in its conservation . Every visitor to the reef pays an Environmental Management Charge which contributes to the dayto-day management of the Marine Park and funding the research that is improving its long-term resilience .
a domestic and international perspective has been a major challenge , but Australia ’ s international reopening of borders on 21 February should at least signal a move in the right direction .
The focus for 2022 will likely still be on national events with many being rescheduled from 2020 and 2021 . “ We are getting a lot of enquiries and are feeling quietly optimistic provided delegates can travel ,” says Kelsey Andersen of TTNQ .
“ Everything we do needs to have flexibility so that it can be changed at short notice ,” Andersen adds , “ such as fully flexible flights for clients to come up for site visits and offering much smaller education programmes .” Virtual site inspections of offsite venues are also available through the TTNQ website .
“ We have also repositioned the destination to highlight how holding an event in our region leaves your business ‘ greater ’ because of the transformational experiences we offer in a destination that is all about nature , outdoors and having everything very close by .” congestion of big cities .
Andersen confirms 34 new events this year which are a mixture of association conferences , corporate meetings and incentives . There are events on the books right out to 2025 , she adds .
The Cairns Convention Centre ( CCC ) launched the first stage of its A $ 176m project with the existing footprint refurbished and fresh interiors throughout . The Centre ’ s expansion , due to open in early 2023 , will add 10,000sqm of new event space , including a 450-pax plenary , exhibition space , 500-pax ballroom and outdoor terrace with views over the Trinity Inlet .
The CCC is now back hosting events with over 10 major conferences scheduled for the remainder of the year plus public events , meetings and banquets .
The Douglas Shire is an hour north of Cairns and is home to Port Douglas , Mossman , Daintree , and Cape Tribulation . In 2019 , it was named the first in the world to achieve Ecotourism Australia ’ s ECO Destination Certification .
Artist render of Cairns Convention Centre development
Delegates not being able to travel to the region due to border closures and travel restrictions from both
Cairns ’ 160,000 population means organisers can hold events without worrying about crowds and
Cairns & GBR Silky Oaks Lodge reception