ONE in four Chinese holiday makers to Australia visits the Far North and a trade mission under way in China this week intends to boost that number. 

Four specially-themed "Cairns and Great Barrier Reef" travel shops will be opened in eastern China's Zhejiang province, one of China’s smallest provinces with a population of 40 million but one of the country’s wealthiest.

The trade mission is a joint venture between the Quicksilver Group of Companies, TTNQ, Tourism Queensland, Hot Air Ballooning, Scuba Doo, Seawalker, Cafe China, Blazing Saddles, Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.

Each business is contributing financially to a package of awareness and sales-generation activities across China, which they hope will stimulate interest from travellers who in turn will exert pressure on Chinese airlines to open up regular passenger services to Cairns.

Michael Healy, Quicksilver's sales and marketing director, said the campaign was part of an ongoing strategy that has proved highly successful, building strong relationships with Chinese tour wholesalers.

"By building demand for our destination it will encourage airlines to review their operations and to look at Cairns as a viable economic destination in its own right," Mr Healy said.

TTNQ's group marketing director David Rose said the interest from China was high.

"The support we're getting from our Chinese colleagues is overwhelming," Mr Rose said. "There is so much interest in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, it’s incredible.

"Wenzhou is known throughout China as the city that sets the agenda in terms of fashion and style – and there’s no doubt that our region is very much top of the wish list when it comes to a holiday with brag factor."

Monday's store opening represented another significant landmark in Far North Queensland’s growing presence in China.

The other store openings will be in Ningbo, Hangzhou and Nanjing, bringing to 11 the total number of specially themed shops in China.

As well as the store opening, the mission members will train travel agency staff on the attractions of the Cairns region.

China is now Far North Queensland's fourth largest international source market, behind Japan, the UK and the US but ahead of New Zealand and Germany.

Chinese visitor figures doubled last year to about 60,000.

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