“This will be a major boost for the Cairns tourism industry”
The award-winning Cairns Convention Centre will set a new benchmark for international and national conferences and events on the completion of a $176 million refurbishment and expansion project. The major project will deliver an extra 10,000 sqm of meeting, banquet and exhibition space when completed.
The renewed Centre will be delivered in two stages. The first stage is a refurbishment of the existing Centre, including the Auditorium, Arena, and existing meeting rooms. The refurbished Centre will be complete in February 2021, with events beginning in March 2021. The expansion to the Centre will see amazing new spaces available to event planners opening in early 2022.
Tourism Minister Kate Jones said the $176 million Cairns Convention Centre Expansion was one of the largest tourism infrastructure projects in Queensland.
“Tourism infrastructure will be crucial to our economic recovery,” Ms Jones said.“That’s why we’re partnering with the private sector to deliver major projects that are creating jobs in Far North Queensland. Once complete the expanded centre will bring around 20,000 extra visitors to the region and inject up to $50 million into the local economy annually. This will be a major boost for the Cairns tourism industry, with the additional visitors staying in local hotels, eating at restaurants and touring around the region.”
Cairns Convention Centre General Manager, Janet Hamilton said “With our enviable location near two World Heritage sites of the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, we wanted to highlight these amazing World Heritage-listed sites in our new Cairns Convention Centre logo. The colour palette reflects the colours of the region that are seen as the sun shines through the rainforest and across the reef,” Hamilton continued. Hamilton said, “Everyone you come across in Cairns has a strong passion for what they do. From the Marine Biologists who are working on the reef, to the local farmers growing amazing fresh produce to our own dedicated team at the Cairns Convention Centre, everyone wants every event planner, every delegate and every visiting family member to enjoy their Cairns experience.”
Harvey Lister, Chairman and CEO of ASM Global Asia-Pacific said, “We are extremely proud of the success that our team has had with the Cairns Convention Centre including twice being awarded AIPC’s World’s Best Congress Centre. Re-opening planning is proceeding with the added focus on the health and safety of all guests and staff with ASM Global’s VenueShield Operational Readiness program, developed in-house across our network of more than 300 venues around the world.”
The new Cairns Convention Centre façade is inspired by the region’s oldest living rainforest, the Wet Tropics Rainforest, bringing the building to life. The new expansion provides more flexibility for clients. The Centre can host a conference in the new expansion for 500 delegates or the entire Centre can comfortably host 2,500 delegates. The refurbished Arena can host events up to 5,000 capacity. Highlights of the expanded Cairns Convention Centre interior include a new exhibition space that will hold 30 exhibition booths. The new Exhibition space leads to a flat floor Plenary that holds 410 people theatre style and can be divided into two equal rooms. The space is ideal for conferences and large seminars.
Also, on this level are three new meeting rooms that can hold over 118 delegates each in theatre style and can be combined to host 370 theatre style as one large space. The new Trinity level brings the region’s beautiful tropical environment inside and gives delegates an opportunity to enjoy the destination while inside the Centre. With beautiful views, the Trinity Room is ideal for gala dinners and large cocktail functions. The room is able to host up to 500 people. The large pre-function space and the outdoor Trinity Terrace has stunning views over the Trinity Inlet. The tropical outdoor area is ideal for cocktail functions, lunches or unique events wanting to enjoy Cairns’ beautiful tropical weather.
Along with the new spaces, the Centre is also launching a new brand to reflect the beauty of the destination and the spirit of the people. The new logo, incorporates both the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest representing the only destination in the world where the rainforest meets the reef.
