CAIRNS is vying with Brisbane and the Gold Coast to host an international conference that would put studying in the tropics on the radar of 50 countries.
The Cairns Post can reveal the region is one of three cities being considered to host the annual Australian New Zealand Agent Workshop in 2011.
The workshop brings together educators who want to recruit international students through agents.
Education agents act similar to travel agents in that a student who does not speak English can book a language or university program through the agent instead of going through the school.
If the Far North region is successful in its bid, around 300 agents from 50 countries will meet more than 200 educators to discuss ways of getting students to Cairns.
Rod Hearps, managing director of International Conferences Events and Fairs Australia which runs the workshop, said educators from all over Australia and New Zealand would attend.
He said while Cairns would be competing with Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the simple fact the agents can see first hand the area and the institutions gave it a huge upper hand.
"One of the things with agents is once they’ve been to a place and they can understand what’s there … they can influence the parents and students a lot more effectively," he said.
Educators and agents from the past two workshops plus those registered in next year’s conference in Melbourne will vote on which city they want to host the 2011 two-day event.
All three cities have to put together an online presentation for the ANZA website for people to vote with the winner announced early next year.
Cairns Regional Council, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Advance Cairns and Study Cairns have been charged with making the video bid.
Study Cairns president Janine Bowmaker said beating Brisbane and the Gold Coast to host the conference would be a massive coup.
"There’ll be an immediate economic impact, bringing in 600 agents and educators from around the world and with Cairns being such a fantastic place they’ll stay for longer and bring families," she said.
