Tropical North Queensland is becoming a desirable destination for travelers. Cairns, the travel capital of the region is a town with population of around 100,000. Local economy is based on tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, mining and fishing industries. There are magnificent rainforests around Cairns, many of them protected by the UNESCO World Heritage listing. Another place worth seeing is the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. The Cairns International Airport provides the first point of entry for both Australian and International travelers.
“Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, Cairns” is a hotel that belongs to Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the largest Asian-based deluxe hotel group in the region. This hotel offers business conferencing facilities, rooms with wireless internet connection, satellite and teleconferencing facilities and facilities for simultaneous translation. Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, Cairns is only a 10-minute drive from the Cairns International Airport. The airport is very important for the town and its businesses because it has boosted local economy.
There are many conferences taking place in Cairns nowadays and local businesses connected with the conferencing industry make a profit of it. Cairns was number three location in Australia (after Sydney and Melbourne) in hosting major international conventions in 2006.
According to Rob Giason, the chief executive officer of Tropical North Queensland Tourism, in 2005 this destination attracted over 500 major business events and over 40,000 delegates.
Another important fact is that, according to the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), tourists are staying longer and spending more than they used to. ATEC Managing Director Matthew Hingerty claims that during 2006 international visitors stayed 149.4 million nights in Australia and spent an average $2665 each while in the country - up 12 percent on the previous year.
