Cairns, Visitor Numbers from Japan Recover to 90% of Pre-COVID Levels Despite Virgin’s Withdrawal, Promotions to Continue

The Cairns Tourism Bureau in Australia has announced that the number of Japanese visitors in May reached 23,010, recovering to 82% compared to 2019.

From July 2023 to May 2024, the number of visitors from Japan to Cairns for the 11 months has recovered to 90% of the pre-COVID levels during the same period, showing strong recovery considering the situation of departures from Japan.

Virgin Australia has announced that it will end operations on the Tokyo/Haneda to Cairns route by February 2025, previously stating that the number of visitors from Japan could fall up to 35% below pre-COVID levels.

Michael Healy, the Tourism Minister of Queensland, stated it was regrettable but also mentioned, “Direct flights from Narita and Kansai airports to Cairns are operated by Jetstar Airways, and there is a trend of Japanese tourists visiting Cairns and other major tourist destinations in the state.”

The importance of Japan as a market for Cairns remains unchanged, and the Cairns Tourism Bureau, with the support of the federal government’s recovery budget, plans to continue active promotion of the Cairns region in cooperation with the federal and Queensland state government tourism bureaus, airlines, airports, local businesses, and other stakeholders.