Cairns Highlands - What's in a name?

In July 2003, Tropical Tablelands Tourism introduced a new marketing name to re-brand the Atherton Tablelands as being proximate to Cairns, with a mountainous airy image of cool, tropical and green, and decided upon the name Cairns Highlands.

While the reaction has been mixed from locals and residents, many businesses have embraced the new name with gusto, incorporated it into their products, and even registered trademarks.

The idea to re-brand the Atherton Tablelands as Cairns Highlands came about as a result of a federally funded tourism strategy report which was compiled by a panel of tourism industry experts from across Australia.

The tourism strategy looks at ways to sustain the tourism industry into the future by considering the resources and facilities available, other opportunities that may exist to expand tourism, and marketing directions.

According to Senator Ron Boswell, the report recommends that the region markets itself as the ‘Cairns Highlands’ to capitalise on the Cairns name which is familiar to most tourists. "Hopefully this will lead to an increase in the number of visitors to the Tablelands and the length of time that they stay in the region," he said.

"The Tablelands will always be known as ‘The Tablelands’ to locals, however the ‘Cairns Highland’ name will be a new brand that the tourism industry can use to market their products and get a bigger slice of the tourism pie up in Far North Queensland."