Community
11 March, 2025
Slug tourists for free things
THE cost of maintaining the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon is $4.2 million a year which regional councillors believe should be paid for by visitors.
However, the council does not intend charging to use the popular venue. Instead, it wants to impose a daily visitor levy which could raise at least $16 million a year for tourism marketing as well as subsidising attractions such as the lagoon.
Councillors have backed a submission calling for legislative changes to enable the charge to be collected.
They were told at last week’s fortnightly meeting that tourists should help pay for expensive facilities provided free-of-charge by ratepayers, including the Lagoon.
The submission to the state government’s Destination 2024: Queensland’s Tourism Future consultation process calls for the power to apply a visitor levy of 2.5 per cent on short term overnight accommodation.
Deputy mayor Brett Olds said he was “very supportive” of a visitor levy. “All this is (that) it enables legislation for the state government to change, so councils can opt in or opt out,” he said.
“Tourism’s a key economic driver for our region, especially here in Cairns … they talk about the ratio being the resident-visitor ratio for Cairns four-to-one, which is far below the state average of 11-to-one.
“Basically, what that means is like we’ve got between 35,000 and 45,000 tourists. They are on any given night, visitors that come here and they use toilets, they have showers, they create trash.”
Cr Olds said the community didn’t mind, “but it puts a big burden on their infrastructure”.
He said a modest fee, which also was charged in places such as Queenstown, New York “and the rest of the world”, would take the burden off ratepayers who were paying about $3.8 million a year to TTNQ.
“They would get that back, so, footpaths, playgrounds, everything else (could be funded),” Cr Olds said.
Cr Pyne said tourists used water, showers and enjoyed the region’s parks and green spaces, “which is part of the right reason they come here and these are all services the council provides”.
“So, it’s a real equity thing with me, you know, it’s only fair, I think,” he said.
Councillors were told that it cost $4.2m a year to maintain the Lagoon, including barbecues, green spaces, water, supervision, staffing and security.
Cr Matthew Tickner said, while locals used the lagoon and the Esplanade, the significant cost of the infrastructure was maintained at “a very high level by the ratepayers” to benefit visitors to Cairns. “ … this levy would be able to strip a lot of that burden away from the ratepayers,” he said.
Cr Tickner said it was “a very minimal cost” added on to a room night for people … “it was a no-brainer”.
In the submission, chief executive officer Ken Gouldthorp said tourism placed a significant strain on local resources and a disordinate financial burden on ratepayers and residents.
He said a 2.5 per cent levy on hotel and other rooms could raise at least $16m a year.
