Tropical North Queensland is preparing for a tourism boost.
Cairns has just welcomed its first non-stop commercial flight from mainland China.
Passengers aboard the China Eastern Airlines plane from Shanghai have added to the already growing number of Chinese visitors to Australia.
Economist Craig James says China is Tropical North Queensland's biggest international market, with 94,000 Chinese visitors to the region last financial year.
"The Chinese are the biggest spending tourists in Australia. We're offering the clear skies that they haven't got in China, the beaches, mountains and wide opens spaces," Mr James told SBS.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, a record 600,000 Chinese tourists visited Australia over the past year, overtaking the UK.
