Tropical North Queensland in Australia is reporting more than A$295m (US$212.8m) worth of tourism investment underway and a record international visitor spend on the back of four years of winning additional destination marketing funding.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) CEO Mark Olsen and chair John O’Sullivan have revealed the marketing campaign results in the 2025-26 TTNQ Annual Report.
O’Sullivan acknowledged the funding from all three levels of government was critical to the destination’s success with 26% of the organisation’s funding in 2025-26 coming from Cairns Regional Council and a further 14% from the Queensland Government via Tourism and Events Queensland.
“The additional $18m in Federal funding secured by TTNQ since the pandemic to drive international tourism recovery had helped to turn the global spotlight on Tropical North Queensland as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.
“The return on investment in both advertising value and TTNQ generated visitor spend reached $34 of visitor expenditure for every dollar invested by our partners across industry and government.
“This is one of our best results considering the tiny budget we have in comparison to our competitors.”
Tropical North Queensland’s international visitor spend reached a record $1.3bn in the year ending March 2026, increasing by 27.6% from the same period in the previous year.
Olsen said the record visitor spend from escalated campaign activity over the past four years combined with the substantial investment in tourism infrastructure since the construction of the three Crystalbrook hotels showed confidence in Tropical North Queensland as a destination.
“The Hilton Palm Cove Cairns Resort & Spa is in the final stages before opening, and work is underway on the $60m Skyhaven accommodation at Cairns Airport and the $85m Skyrail Rainforest Cableway upgrade,” Olsen said.
The Morris Group’s $40m redevelopment of Double Island, he noted, was also a sign of increased developer interest in the only place on earth where two natural World Heritage areas are side by side.
Ecotourism is at the heart of the visitor economy in Tropical North Queensland and is continuing to grow with State government investment in the $15.5m expansion of the Smithfield Mountain Bike Park and the $59m Wangetti Trail.
Developed in consultation with more than 230 stakeholders across 32 regional workshops, the new tourism plan identifies priorities for each sub-region and strategies for success across ecotourism, events, connectivity, experiences, brand, and industry.
