Cairns
For international vacationers regularly dropping by Australia, Cairns is one of the usual destinations for their trips. Tourism Australia has identified the regional city as the fourth top destination for offshore tourists in the country. Cairns is following Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as the top foreign tourist local destinations. In terms of domestic tourism, Cairns is also gaining popularity. Many Australian vacationers love Cairns' geographic features and its being distant from the country's major cities and capitals.
Climate in Cairns is most ideal for holiday vacations. The warm tropical climate is sought-after especially by international vacationers, especially those coming from extremely cold countries. In general, Cairns has two distinct seasons. Wet season is characterized by tropical monsoon rain occurring regularly from December to April. The dry season is not completely dry as there are frequent rain showers and thunderstorms. Dry season usually sets in from May to November.
The regional city is one of the major urban centers in the state of Queensland. Cairns is a major commercial center serving the regions of Cape York Peninsula and Far North Queensland. The city has also established its importance because it houses many regional offices for most regional government departments.
Most of the agricultural land in Cairns is cropped with sugar cane. However, total land area for agriculture is declining as new suburban centers sprout and expand. Currently, tourism is the main industry that generates significant income for the city. Because Cairns is near the Great Barrier Reed in Port Douglas and Wet Tropics of Queensland in the east coast, many tourists are coming over for accommodations. Cairns has a rich and interesting array of different vacation accommodations like resorts, backpacker hostels, hotels and motels.
Actually, Cairns need not depend on the tourist spots at its neighboring towns and regions. It has its own attractions. Because of its beautiful surroundings and strategic geographic location, nature attractions and classic sceneries abound in Cairns. Among those tourist drawers are the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, the Kuranda Skyrail Gondola Cableway and he Rainforest nature park. The lagoon is also a popular Cairns attraction. A controversial decision was announced by the Cairns city government in 2003, allowing topless sunbathing in the area. The lagoon has then earned a reputation of being a semi-nude sunbathing spot.
As a commercial and urban center, Cairns is containing numerous shopping centers. The large Cairns Central is a huge shopping center attracting local and foreign spenders. The central business district in Cairns is undergoing a current boom, facilitating the rise of many high-rise edifices. Cairns is in fact continuing to expand to become a much bigger commercial and economical center. This is expected to further boost its tourism and commercial capacity in the future.
Cairns has a National Basketball League (NBL) team, the Cairns Taipans. The Northern Pride Queensland Cup rugby league team will play their first season in 2008 and will act as a feeder team to the North Queensland Cowboys (NRL).
Cairns City is in close proximity to the suburbs of Cairns North, Manunda, Edge Hill, Whitfield, Kanimbla, Parramatta Park, Mooroobool, Manoora, Portsmith, Earlville, Westcourt, Bungalow, Woree and Bayview Heights.
