KS at Loose Change has a great post reporting on negative Google Trends results for “Cairns” and “Great Barrier Reef”, which probably reflect declining international interest in Far North Queensland as a tourism destination:
One hopes that as Japanese baby boomers begin to retire they fondly remember holidays to the Far North they took in younger years and return for another look. Otherwise, without a large decline in the exchange rate, international interest in the Far North may be difficult to re-capture.
Queensland Economy Watch 