Tropical North Queensland

A vibrant economy, attractive lifestyle

Australia has a lower cost of living than many other countries in the world, particularly within the Australasian region. Tropical North Queensland is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Cairns offers an attractive and safe location for regional headquarters with competitive advantages in terms of business costs, ease of conducting business, access to markets and lifestyle. Telecommunications investment in Australia is amongst the highest in the developed world, with highly competitive call costs from Cairns. Australia has abundant energy resources, which contributes to one of the lowest electricity costs in the world. Tropical North Queensland has a highly skilled workforce employed in a diverse range of industries. The Australian workforce has been recognised internationally as being of the highest quality, extremely stable and an appealing commodity for Australasian markets.

Many countries have shaped the cultural heritage of Tropical North Queensland. The cultural diversity and multi-lingual business community is a valuable asset for exporters and investors.

Tourism contributes $2 billion to the Cairns economy and illustrates the city’s reputation as a gateway for the business community with direct air links to Asia,
New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Guam and all major Australian cities.
With the international award winning Cairns Convention Centre, the region
is well established as a leading Business Tourism centre.

Cairns has a tropical climate with conditions reflective of neighbouring South East Asian countries. Tourism continues to be a key driver for the economy with more than 2 million visitors each year. The city is now also the most popular superyacht destination in Australia with more than 50 luxury vessels visiting the region every year for cruising, charter and refit.

Cairns is developing a reputation as a centre of excellence in Tropical
Knowledge and Expertise.

The region supports one of the largest fishing fleets in Australia and adheres to the highest level of environmental compliance and operational best practice. Key regional seafood exports include prawns, reef and freshwater fish, crabs, bugs and lobsters, live reef fish and sashimi quality tuna. Key markets include Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Aquaculture activities continue to grow with prawns, barramundi and red claw. The TNQ region produces a wealth of exotic, tropical and traditional fruits and vegetables and has a strong domestic and export beef cattle industry along with an extensive primary and secondary dairy industry.

Mining continues to be a major sector of the economy at almost $400m and includes large scale operations such as Weipa (Bauxite) and Cape Flattery (Silica) and smaller operations of gold, tin and other precious metals and gems. Cairns is a major supply point for mining operations in Indonesia and PNG.