General News
3 November, 2026
Luring more key visitors
NEW Tropical North Queensland chairman Bob East has set his sights on attracting more international visitors, restoring airline capacity and strengthening the region’s competitiveness.
The former chairman of Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland replaces John O’Sullivan, who led the organisation for three years.
Mr East (above), who helped establish the Mantra Group and currently chairs Experience Co, said his immediate priority would be to listen to local tourism operators and identify opportunities for growth.
“My first job is a little bit of listening,” he said.
“How do we start to unlock those future travellers and how do we promote ourselves into those new markets?”
Mr East acknowledged the challenges facing the industry, including heightened competition, subdued tourism conditions and the need to attract more international flights.
“It’s certainly not the boom times, but we know that with hard work, focus and really good operators in the market, we can start to unlock that potential,” he said.
He also called for stronger government support for tourism marketing, arguing that well-funded campaigns could yield substantial economic benefits.
“We know that with more marketing dollars we can get exponential return, not only to the tourism operators, but to the community at large,” he said.
TTNQ chief executive officer Mark Olsen said that restoring international flight capacity and regaining domestic market share would be crucial over the next three years.
He said the organisation achieved record member investment in 2025-26, generating $216 million in advertising value and $267 m in campaign-generated visitor expenditure.
Mr Olsen welcomed Mr East’s appointment, highlighting his experience in accommodation, tourism operations and international marketing.
“It is fitting that we have a chairman with the depth of experience that Bob East brings in accommodation, experiences and global marketing to take up the mantle of TTNQ chairman after the great leadership shown by John O’Sullivan in his time as TTNQ chairman,” he said.
Cairns Adventure Group chief marketing officer Lisa Chambers and Shorex Australia founder James Coughlan were elected to the TTNQ board from among seven candidates.
Ms Chambers brings more than 20 years of tourism marketing experience, while Mr Coughlan has more than 25 years’ experience in the international cruise industry.
