Right Time to Invest in Cairns Property
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YOUR GUIDE TO INVESTING IN THE POWERHOUSE OF TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND OCTOBER 2017 EDITION 4: POWERING INTO THE FUTURE SPECIAL PUBLICATION V1 - CCPE01Z01FEAGRICULTURE // MINING // REAL ESTATE // TOURISM // AVIATION // EDUCATION + MORE CCPE01Z01FE - V1 WHEN YOU’RE 5'4+175 ABOUT DOING $75+0'55 IN OUR STUNNING LOCATION As the peak economic development agency for Tropical North Queensland, Advance Cairns works collaboratively with all governments as well as business and industry in promoting trade and inward investment as part of the role of coordinating a shared 20 year action plan for the region. Our members share a common concern and interest in the development of our region and an understanding that the collective efforts of agencies and organisations to a V«ÕÀ«ÃiÜ`iÛiÀLiiwÌÃÌÕÃ>° Join us at Advance Cairns and lend your voice to helping direct the future of the TNQ region and securing sustainable prosperity for generations to come. Membership applications are available online. THE COMMITTEE FOR TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND V1 - CCPE01Z01FE 04 I CONTENTS 30 O V E R V I E W 6 ADVANCE CAIRNS 8 MAJOR INDUSTRIES 1 0 14 MAJOR PROJECTS 1 2 A V I A T I O N 1 4 R E T A I L 1 6 AGRICULTURE 1 7 CONFERENCES 1 8 EDITORS 26 Jennifer Spilsbury, M I N I N G 2 0 Sian Jeffries LIVING HERE 2 2 WRITERS Rowan Sparkes, Hayden Smith REAL ESTATE 2 4 HEALTHCARE 2 6 DESIGNERS Jay Tweedie, Evolet Hill E D U C A T I O N 2 8 HEAD OF SALES 36 ARTS & CULTURE 3 0 Patricia O’Neill CRUISE SHIPS 3 2 ADVERTISING VISIT CAIRNS 3 4 For advertising inquiries; Ph 4052 6912 T O U R I S M 3 6 E m a i l : [email protected] WHY INVEST? 3 8 WELCOME | 05 GOLDEN AGE ON THE HORIZON AS CAIRNS ENTERS A NEW PHASE OF CONFIDENCE AND ACTIVITY, PREDICTIONS ACROSS ALMOST ALL INDUSTRIES ARE INDICATING THAT BOOM TIMES ARE AHEAD FOR THE CITY. are soaring with 510,000 visitors as a place to holiday or do business. Finally the health of the tourism flowing through Cairns Airport in July, One such admirer of the Tropical industry is cascading into other areas with 59,710 coming from abroad and North who is investing his heart and with new data revealing a building 422,520 domestically and 28,650 in money is Syrian billionaire Ghassan boom. Master Builders Queensland transit. Aboud and his GA Group. statistics show dwelling approvals have SilkAir’s Singapore route has been In very short time this developer grown 44.9 per cent in three months. supported well and there is more has put his money where his mouth is Housing approvals are up 10.4 per excitement with the announcements and, with the emergence of yet cent over the same period and are up that China Southern and Hainan another crane on the city skyline, the two per cent for the past year. Airlines will introduce direct flights to doubters heavily bruised by the Aquis Projects are creating jobs with the mainland China, tapping into an disappointment are growing in unemployment rate dipping below 6 he headquarters for the Cairns affluent middle-class wanting to travel. confidence with every milestone he per cent – the lowest its been in eight Post is in the heart of the city in Technology has boosted the ability ticks off with his three CBD projects. years. TAbbott Street. of larger cruise ships to be able to dock His recent purchase of the marina at We hope you enjoy this edition of Set amongst the hotel high-rises, at the Port of Cairns and as a result Port Douglas heralds a new era for that Invest Cairns, which provides a shops and eateries, just a block back there will be a total of 60 visits this tourist town built on the back of snapshot of how our region is tracking from the Esplanade and a stone’s year on the schedule. There will also be another high-roller, Christopher Skase. across the board. There is information throw from the cruise liner terminal, it’s a total of 19 cruise ship visits from off This development activity though on major events, plans and projects easy to gauge the mood of this tourism Yorkeys Knob, two at Port Douglas, isn’t just good for tourism or tourists. from agriculture, education and city. four at Cooktown and eight in the The construction industry is innovation, to property and people. It’s O V E R V I E W 6 Right now, it’s humming. Visitors Thursday Islands. healthy, keeping busy with the opening a handbook to the region we invest our are arriving in healthy numbers via Cairns is well and truly capitalising of the Aquarium, Smithfield Cinemas time, money, heart and soul into. road, air and sea. on its natural appeal and travellers are and Cairns Performing Arts Centre, to Jennifer Spilsbury ADVANCE CAIRNS 8 International passenger numbers casting their eyes back to the Far North name a few high-profile projects. Editor, The Cairns Post MAJOR INDUSTRIES 1 0 MAJOR PROJECTS 1 2 Delivering quality, A V I A T I O N 1 4 contemporary R E T A I L 1 6 education to youth AGRICULTURE 1 7 of the Far North CONFERENCES 1 8 M I N I N G 2 0 Preparation for a life of LIVING HERE 2 2 REAL ESTATE 2 4 worth, not merely HEALTHCARE 2 6 a life a work E D U C A T I O N 2 8 ARTS & CULTURE 3 0 CRUISE SHIPS 3 2 VISIT CAIRNS 3 4 T O U R I S M 3 6 WHY INVEST? 3 8 29 Schools and Colleges. Visit www.cns.catholic.edu.au/our-schools 6 | REGIONAL OVERVIEW: ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT CITY POISED TO BENEFIT FROM NEW ERA OF CONFIDENCE LUXURY HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS AND A RESURGENT TOURISM INDUSTRY ARE SOME OF MANY FACTORS PLAYING A ROLE AS CAIRNS SURGES FORWARD AFTER A TOUGH FEW YEARS FOLLOWING THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS, WRITES HAYDEN SMITH. n July this year, Cairns Chamber of emerged from a post-GFC slump into a new Cairns and mainland China. Commerce members gathered at the era of confidence and activity. In fact, Mr Cummings estimated the city IHilton Hotel, where renowned local This can be attributed to a culmination of may need to cater for an extra one million economist Bill Cummings gave his annual many factors, not least of which the series visitors per year by 2023-24, based on assessment of the region’s status quo. of luxury hotel developments underway in current growth trends. Among his comprehensive analysis, one the CBD. When it comes to residential real estate, comment in particular seemed quite telling. But billionaire Ghassan Aboud’s much the region is still classified as a “rising “In contrast to earlier years, all major publicised Far North spending spree has market” under Herron Todd White’s segments in the economy are now looking come on the back of a resurgent tourism Property Clock. But, buoyed by decreasing positive,” Mr Cummings said. sector, and visitation is expected to soar unemployment in the city, experts believe There is no doubt Cairns is in the midst next year after China Southern and Hainan 2018 will be the year in which Cairns of a pivotal time in its history, having Airlines begin direct services between property prices finally start to grow. OUR TROPICAL CITY IS NOW GETTING THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES AS regional centres throughout Queensland face growing challenges in terms of economic sustainability, investment attraction and employment, Cairns is bucking the trend. Construction activity is at an almost unprecedented level as cranes tower above the city; tourism is soaring; and more people are choosing to start a business here than almost anywhere else in Queensland. Cairns has also recorded the sharpest decline in unemployment of any region statewide this year. In fact, at 5.7 per cent, it’s the lowest it has been since prior to the Global Financial Crisis. Leading this charge are GA Group’s three major hotel developments, worth a combined $370 million and directly employing up to 2500 people. Further construction in the form of Nova City’s first two towers will add to the construction boom in early 2018. With 2.7 million visitors spending almost $3 billion dollars in the region last financial year, the additional accommodation stock due to come online in the next few years will be in high demand. In addition, we recently welcomed Australia’s first public aquarium to be built in 17 years – a complementary addition to our nature-based tourism industry and another sign of investor confidence in our city. Of course, a successful business sector is as much about small business as it is about large investors. We were thrilled to learn earlier this year that Cairns is a nationwide hot spot for entrepreneurial start-ups and small business growth. This success is in contrast to a negative trend throughout much of Queensland. funding support than other regions. None of this is by accident. Cairns Regional We made a conscious decision not to sit around Council has been working extremely hard in the and wait for help to come and that boldness is now past five years to bring the city the attention it paying off. deserves. We are now in the enviable position where our We’ve focussed on strengthening the broader housing stock is at a premium. Our rental vacancy economy through a record capital works program, rate is among the lowest in the state at 1.8 per cent targeted industry support, investment attraction, and we are ripe for residential development.