HAT201: Cairns Travel Booklet - Exploring Northern Queensland

This travel booklet provides a comprehensive guide to Cairns, Queensland, Australia, focusing on the key components that make it a popular tourist destination. It explores Cairns as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting its natural beauty and cultural significance. The booklet analyzes Cairns through the 'amalgam' concept, examining attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns Esplanade, Botanic Garden, Kuranda Railway, and Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. It also covers amenities like accommodation and dining, access options including the international airport, and ancillary services such as the Cairns Tourist Information Centre and local councils. The guide offers practical information on things to do, how to reach Cairns, where to stay, dining options, and essential retail services, making it a valuable resource for potential visitors planning their trip to this captivating Australian destination. The guide also provides references to support the information provided.

Visit Cairns, The Heart of Northern
Queensland
Know Cairns: Heart of Queensland
Cairns, is a small city in the Northern
Queensland region. It is famously called the
gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. It is
extremely famous for its soothing environment
and great culture. Considered the home to the
aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, Cairns,
stands to be an excellent amalgamation of Thrill
and fun for the tourists (Altman and Finlayson,
2018).
Over many years Cairns, has been the centre of
interest for many tourists especially for the
foreigners and bagpackers who come to spend
their time in this place and take away memories
for lifetime. The Australian Government is
highly supportive of tourism as it fetches
significant amount of revenue. The Government
shows special emphasis on the experience of the
tourists which makes the visit especially
memorable (Chen and Prebensen, 2017).
Why Choose Cairns?
Australia is a land of tourists, but Cairns have a
special place in the hearts of the tourists. Its
aesthetic beauty and alluring beaches puts a spell
on the tourists leaving no choice but to spend
couple more days at this place. Cairns have a
great support for tourists especially in terms of
information and experience. There are many
different places which attract tourists. Each and
every man in Cairns makes sure the next
vacation in Australia for you is a memorable
one. There’s no scarcity of fun and thrill because
what people look for in a holiday is full in
Cairns. The right mix of great food, culture,
attractions and solace provides a great time to
the tourists (Deville, Wearing and McDonald,
2016).
Things to Do at Cairns
From tropical rainforest to experiencing one of
the most sought after aquatic ecosystem Cairns,
has it all for the tourists. The attractions have the
right mix to experience nature, manmade
extravaganzas and events which clearly helps
the local council to drive tourists to this place.
There are many things to do in Cairns; some of
them are listed below:
 A visit to the Great Barrier Reef
 Experiencing the Cairns Esplanade.
 The Cairns, Botanic Garden.
 A day trip to Kuranda Railway Station.
 The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
 Barron Gorge National Park

Visit Cairns, The Heart of Northern
Queensland
 Trip to Green Island
 Visit to The Daintree Rainforest
 Visit to some of the posh pubs and Bars
and an experience of the Palm Cove and
Many more.
The Great Barrier Reef one of the largest coral
ecosystem. Cairns, is the gateway to the reef.
One can experience deep sea diving or have a
thrilling flight over the ocean or a posh yacht
party.
Cairns Esplanade an excellent social rendezvous
of people. It’s a great place to experience sunrise
or sunset and have a drink may be with your
close friends.
The Botanic Garden is a great outing to get to
the core of nature and feel the positive vibe. A
refreshing experience ends with local food that
enthralls tourists to the core.
A day trip to Kuranda is a must for every nature
lover. Cairns, shows no frugality in presenting
the ultimate of nature to all the nature loving
tourists. The lush green rainforest and a train
safari through it is just ethereal in nature (Pabel,
Prideaux and Thompson, 2017).
A visit to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
is a ten minute drive from the main city. It
enthralls the mind of the tourists with some great

Visit Cairns, The Heart of Northern
Queensland
display of the oldest cultures and gothic
experiences (Thompson et al., 2016).
It would be a sin to visit Cairns and not visit the
Palm Cove and the Cairns Aquarium which
provides the best possible experience of the
marine life and nature (Divisekera and Nguyen,
2018).
The Interested Tourists could also experience
the night life of the city via excellent posh pubs
and nightclubs and could also take a walk on the
beaches for solace and ultimate respite.
The Cairns Local Council and The Tourist
Center are of great help for both domestic and
foreign tourists. The helpline numbers are
readily available from the city website and could
also be gathered from the Cairns International
Airport.
How to Reach Cairns
The International Airport provides excellent
aviation and receives number of flights a day.
There are also connected routes from different
Australian cities. Waterway travel provides
altogether a different experience.
Where to Stay
There are number of top class accommodations
in the city. With five star and seven star hotels to
easily available bed and breakfast and lodges
Cairns caters to all kinds of accommodation
needs.
Food and Beverage:
Excellent range of multi-cuisine restaurants are
available that offer a treat to the taste buds.
Additionally, sea-food platter and a variety of
cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages are
available to make you holiday an exquisite
experience. While in Cairns, trying the sea food
platter and the authentic Australian peach wine
is a must. Top three go to restaurants:

Visit Cairns, The Heart of Northern
Queensland
Ochre Restaurant
1, Marlin Parade; open from 11:30 AM to
midnight
Tamarind Restaurant
Wharf St., Open from 11:00 AM till midnight
Vivaldis Restaurant
53-57 Esplanade, Open from 11:00 AM till
midnight
Retailing and other services:
When in Cairns, the go to retail center is the
Cairns Central for fulfilling the need of
shopping essentials.
DMO:
Aplin Street
Hours 8am-8pm
P: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Local Councils:
For any assistance, contact the local support at
Cairns Regional Council at 1300 69 22 47
Email: [e-mail]
Government entities:
 Agnes Water QGAP Ph: 13 QGOV (13
74 68)
 Aramac QGAP (Ph: 4651 3014)
 Augathella QGAP (Ph: 4654 5007)
 Ayr QGAP (Ph: 4790 2800)
Visitors Center:
Cairns Visitor Centre ( Ph: [phone])
Cairns Visitor Information and Booking
Centre (Ph: [phone])
Reefinfo Visitor Centre (Ph: [phone])
Plan your Next Vacation to Cairns, Now.
References
Altman, J. and Finlayson, J., 2018. Aborigines,
tourism and sustainable development.
Canberra, ACT: Centre for Aboriginal Economic
Policy Research (CAEPR), The Australian
National University.
Chen, J.S. and Prebensen, N.K. eds.,
2017. Nature tourism. Taylor & Francis.
Deville, A., Wearing, S. and McDonald, M.,
2016. WWOOFing in Australia: ideas and
lessons for a de-commodified sustainability
tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(1),
pp.91-113.
Divisekera, S. and Nguyen, V.K., 2018.
Determinants of innovation in tourism evidence
from Australia. Tourism Management, 67,
pp.157-167.
Pabel, A., Prideaux, B. and Thompson, M., 2017.
Tourists' preferences with Indigenous tourism

Visit Cairns, The Heart of Northern
Queensland
experiences in the Wet Tropics of Queensland,
Australia. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management, 31, pp.142-151.
Thompson, M., Prideaux, B., McShane, C., Dale,
A., Turnour, J. and Atkinson, M., 2016. Tourism
development in agricultural landscapes: the
case of the Atherton Tablelands,
Australia. Landscape Research, 41(7), pp.730-
743.