QANTAS has cut the heart out of the Cairns tourism industry, axing its twice daily services to Tokyo and abandoning the western Japanese market in a move that will cost the city at least $125 million a year.

The decision, announced yesterday afternoon by Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, has stunned tourism officials, politicians and the tourism industry, which had been expecting some cuts as a result of rising oil prices but not the massive axe that Qantas dropped.

Already there are industry predictions of losses of hundreds of jobs and business closures as a result of the decision, with Australian Tourism Export Council managing director Matt Hingerty last night saying there would be a "September 11-style" impact on the Far North.

Starting in December, the number of Japanese tourists flying into Cairns will drop by about 60 per cent – a massive 100,000 tourists – in addition to domestic seats from cutbacks in Tokyo to Brisbane and Sydney services which flew through Cairns.

Reactions from tourism and business figures ranged from "gutted" to "devastated" and "this town is stuffed" as details of the decision spread.

Tourism industry leader Charles Woodward described the decision as "the worst thing to happen to the place since the pilots’ strike".

"This is one of the biggest disasters we’ve had," Mr Woodward said.

The moves announced by Qantas were:

n The replacement of Qantas’ 14 weekly B767 Cairns-Tokyo (Narita) services with a daily Jetstar non-stop A330 two-class service from December.

n Jetstar's withdrawal from the Cairns-Osaka-Nagoya route from December.

n Closure of Qantas’ pilot base in Cairns with about 40 pilots returning to Sydney.

n Axing of Qantas’ thrice-weekly Melbourne-Tokyo (Narita) A330 return services from September.

n A reduction in Qantas’ Sydney-Tokyo (Narita) A330 return services from nine to seven return services a week from 2008.

n The introduction of new Gold Coast-Tokyo (Narita) services five times a week, operated by Jetstar in addition to Jetstar's daily Sydney-Gold Coast-Osaka services.

TTNQ chief executive Rob Giason said he was "absolutely gutted" by the decision.

"This is an incredible blow to the hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs that are dependent on our success in securing Japanese visitors," Mr Giason said.

"We understand the fuel issue and were expecting some cuts, but to lose western Japan is beyond our comprehension."

Tourism Minister and Member for Cairns Desley Boyle told The Cairns Post: "This is not just about the loss of some flights to Cairns but what it means is very limited direct access to Cairns for international travellers.

"After all, you can do as much marketing as you like but if airlines don’t give you the flights and the connections, then visitors can’t get here."

Some industry sources said they believed incentives offered by the privately-owned Gold Coast airport may have had a hand in the Qantas decision. Cairns Ports chief executive Neil Quinn, while still trying to assess the impact, said he was unaware of any discussions about landing fees, taxes or charges.

In his release, Mr Dixon said: "The Japan-Far North Queensland market has also been particularly difficult for Qantas for a number of years.

"At current fuel prices, the group would lose more than $100 million operating to Japan under our existing schedule."

It is unknown what impact Qantas’ announcement will have on the State Government’s plan to sell off Cairns airport to pay for a $450 million hospital redevelopment.

 

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