General News
7 October, 2026
Shire buzzing with tourists
WITH AI now on everyone’s minds, in the news each day and generally affecting our daily lives in many different ways, COVID-19 has become an even more distant memory.
That’s not such a bad thing, all considered.
It’s difficult to believe that it is now over six years since local restaurants were only allowed to provide takeaway food, tour organisers were weighing up how they would keep their staff employed and car parks were generally so quiet, the only vehicle seen throughout the day would be the local security guy doing his rounds.
Well, as we’ve previously discussed in Gazza’s Goss, by 2021 that had all changed, with even the post-school holiday periods remaining outrageously busy.
It was assumed that this post-COVID ‘honeymoon period’ would not last. Possibly that was the case for a while, as visitor numbers seemed to be slowly returning to normal.
What is for sure, six years on, Port Douglas and the wider Douglas Shire are booming again, in terms of tourism, and this year in particular, there really doesn’t appear to have been any down time.
From my own personal observations, locations like central Port Douglas, such as Macrossan Street and Front Street in Mossman, have been thriving all-year round.
Even midweek, car parks have been difficult to find, pavements crowded and restaurants packed.
Gus Peterson from Nimrod Resort Apartments in Nautilus Street, Port Douglas said: “It’s been a very busy year from mid-June right through until now. October is looking pretty good as well, so that’s very good for the area.”
“We’ve had no real quiet periods this year,” he said.
Reece Jones from Tropical Trike Tours at the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina said: “We’ve had a very busy year with even higher peaks from time to time.”
“The great thing is, people just keep coming back, so we’ve added another trike to our fleet,” he said.
Port Douglas Yacht Club manager John Pooley said he had also seen very steady numbers throughout the whole of this year.
“We’re probably not the best measure of visitor numbers being slightly out of the centre of Port Douglas, but nevertheless we have had great support from locals and visitors, especially for our Sunday lunches,” he said.
When it comes to visitor statistics, there is no one in a better position to comment than Emma Tunnock, the executive officer of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree.
“There is certainly a positive story to tell around destination performance,” she said.
“While we continue to experience seasonal fluctuations, what has been particularly encouraging this year has been the strength of our traditional peak season, along with positive signs that this momentum is extending across a longer period of the year.
“We’ve also maintained a significant destination marketing presence in our key interstate markets, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, as well as activity in New Zealand, our largest international source market.
Overall, it would seem that 2026 has been greatly successful for the wider Douglas Shire.
Locations like Mossman with its selection of cafes and beautiful backdrop, the Daintree rainforest and Mossman Gorge have seen the knock-on effects of the high visitation experienced.
As we approach Christmas, no doubt tourist numbers will continue to remain high.
On this highly positive and busy note it’s time to just take five, so for now it’s Gazza signing out.
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
