The event, which attracts airline, hospitality and tourism leaders, will be held at Cairns Convention Centre on July 31 and August 1. The summit already has a number of senior figures from key airlines, including Qatar Airways, Qantas, Virgin and VietJet, on the agenda to speak.
It is the first time the event has ever been held outside of a capital city, with Cairns hosting in the same year that aviation in Asia Pacific is expected to fully recover from the pandemic travel pause.
“This is a pivotal event in our calendar and will serve as a key platform for exploring the developments and strategic challenges facing the aviation and tourism sectors in this region,” said CAPA Centre for Aviation Events director Claudia Kunz.
“Providing a platform for industry leaders of this calibre to come together and share their insights leads to real, actionable intelligence that shapes the future of air travel.”
The summit will analyse the direction of the aviation sector and, alongside challenges, discuss aviation opportunities and trends in the region.
“Hosting CAPA will enable us to welcome the cream of the aviation and tourism sectors to Cairns, the northern gateway to Australia,” said Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker.
“We can also showcase why Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef remain iconic drawcards for international visitors and why Cairns Airport is working closely with our partners to increase access options to Tropical North Queensland.
“Hosting CAPA will give us access to a wide range of airlines, right here at home, which is a rare and unique opportunity.”
Hosting airline decision-makers as the tropical north Queensland region looks to increase its air connections is a tactical move.
“Aviation connectivity is critical to the future of Cairns as a successful ecotourism destination and, once the delegates see for themselves what our region offers, it will add to the compelling arguments presented to them to work with Cairns Airport and TTNQ,” said Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) CEO, Mark Olsen.
“TTNQ is sponsoring this conference as a strategic event for the destination’s future that will also deliver an immediate $1.2 million economic boost while the 400 delegates are in region.”
Meanwhile the Cairns Convention Centre team see hosting the conference as another opportunity to showcase the capabilities of the recently expanded venue.
“Our world-class venue, equipped with cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art facilities and a proven track record of successfully delivering international conferences, demonstrates the centre and region’s ability to host this high-profile event,” said Cairns Convention Centre general manager Janet Hamilton.
“We look forward to welcoming delegates from around the globe and highlighting the unique appeal of Cairns as a premier conference destination.”
