A "WAR cabinet" is outlining the battle strategy to minimise the losses and plan the fightback from the devastating attack on the Cairns region's tourism industry.

With predicted job losses of 1200 people and $100 million from the region’s economy, the mood of yesterday’s meeting between the tourism industry, government officials and business leaders was sombre as a four-point counter-attack plan was thrashed out.

"The focus is on solutions and moving forward," Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Rob Giason said late yesterday.

The plan to come out of the meeting was:

1. More detailed data on the economic impact of the cutbacks.

2. Protecting the Japanese market by looking at options to entice other airlines to service western Japan in particular.

3. Speeding up the wooing of emerging markets, particularly China and Chinese airlines.

4. Trying to get the Federal Government to match Queensland’s $4 million for a "war chest" to help fill the void when the Qantas twice daily flights stop in December.

"People have to understand this is not just about Cairns and the tourism industry. It is about the whole region and it’s economy," Mr Giason said.

His comments came as the latest international tourist figures only served to confound the industry over why the Gold Coast had been chosen ahead of Cairns to help service the Tokyo market.

In the year to March 194,782 Japanese tourists arrived in Cairns – an 8 per cent drop from the corresponding 12-month figures of 211,877.

At the same time, the Gold Coast’s Japanese tourist numbers fell 26 per cent from 178,600 to 132,600.

TTNQ’s destination director for Japan and emerging markets, Harry Nihori, will fly out to Japan today in a bid to talk to the Japanese tour marketers and airlines to look for opportunities to help fill the gap left by the Qantas withdrawal.

Cairns Ports chief executive Neil Quinn, who was part of the "war cabinet", said the focus would be on identifying other airlines which could provide new international links to Cairns or upgrade existing schedules.

These included Cathay Pacific and cut-price Chinese carrier Viva Macau.

Mr Quinn said the airport owner’s focus would be to adjust its cost base to fit the new schedules.

Work on the $200 million domestic terminal redevelopment would continue while consideration would be given to deferring any planned projects on the international terminal.

Cairns Ports deferred a $40 million upgrade of the international terminal last year.

Cairns MP and Tourism Minister Desley Boyle, who admits she has been gutted by Qantas’ announcement but is determined to see the region recover, called for a federal open skies policy.

Advance Cairns acting chief executive officer Bill Calderwood called on all regional industries, not just the tourism sector, to work together to counter the Qantas cuts.

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