In close collaboration with the Cairns COVID-19 Economic Response and Recovery Sub-Committee (ERRSC), Cairns Regional Council has developed the Cairns Pathway to Recovery from COVID-19. The EERC is compromised of representatives of business and peak bodies in our region including the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.
The document summarises the economic impacts of COVID-19 and sets out a four phase plan for economic recovery and can be found on the Cairns Regional Council website.
Key findings include:
- Pre COVID-19, the Cairns economy was strong with Gross Regional Product (GRP) growth above Queensland and Australian averages, and unemployment well below both the state and national levels.
- Cairns will be one of the most severely affected regions in Australia because its economy is heavily reliant on visitors, tourism and other export sectors.
- GRP for the June 2020 quarter is expected to drop by $386M (16%) with unemployment forecast to exceed 12%, significantly higher than both the state and national levels.
- The re-establishment of domestic aviation connectivity and capacity into Cairns is critically important, coupled with investment in destination marketing to fill that capacity. This is what will be required to return the city’s service population to ‘pre-COVID’ levels and get the local economy moving again.
