A carbon offset program for business events and online hubs designed to make sustainable and accessible travel easy to access are among the new initiatives to be revealed by Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef at AIME 2023.
Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef General Manager Rosie Douglas said the new partnership with Reforest will assist event planners in calculating their event’s high-level carbon footprint and offset it through a localised tree planting and revegetation program in endangered Mabi rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands.
“Events can fully offset their carbon footprint through the Reforest program or make a partial contribution and offer delegates the opportunity to contribute to the program throughout the event,” she said.
“The partnership is an easy option for events looking to enter into an offsetting carbon program of any capacity, making it accessible to all business events.
“This month, a Sustainable Travel Hub has launched on the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef destination website to help visitors and events travel with a greater purpose in the only destination where two World Heritage areas meet, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.
“Showcasing interactive conservation projects, immersive cultural experiences and eco-certified operators such as the Quicksilver Group and the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, the hub will help event planners and delegates to understand the value our region places on the environment and our community.
“The Sustainable Travel Hub comes after the launch late last year of an Accessibility Hub on the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef destination website to assist people of all abilities to identify accommodation, tours and activities suitable to their needs.
“To celebrate 2023 being named the Year of Accessible Tourism in Queensland we have also launched an accessibility widget so the destination website can be viewed in various modes including ADHD-friendly with reduced distractions and blindness mode that is compatible with a screen reader.”
Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef will exhibit at AIME 2023 alongside 11 members showcasing the destination’s key business events products, including the Cairns Convention Centre, which will give an update on its $176 million refurbishment and expansion scheduled for a full reopening in May 2023.
Janet Hamilton, General Manager of Cairns Convention Centre is looking forward to showcasing the new 10,500 sqm Centre expansion.
“Our first event in the new expansion will be the Queensland Legislative Assembly, meeting for the sixth regional sitting of the Queensland Parliament, 9-11 May. Following on from this, many national and international conference delegates will get to experience our amazing new venue” Hamilton said.
The Cairns Convention Centre expansion includes a large undercover, tropically planted forecourt, and an expanded main entry lobby on the entry levels. The Mezzanine level will have a 410-seat plenary lecture space that can be divided into two spaces, three 110 seat meeting rooms, and exhibition space for up to 30 display booths. The brand new third level includes a 500-sest banquet room with a large adjoining pre-function space and external terrace with spectacular views over Trinity Inlet.
Buyers at AIME are invited to indulge in a mini massage available 14 & 15 February from 10am to 3pm at the Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Stand B37.
Contact Kahlia Pepper for Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef media enquires.
