Case Study:
Cairns Italian Festival

The Cairns Italian Festival is a vibrant annual celebration of Italian culture, history, and traditions set against the stunning backdrop of North Queensland. The event features something for everyone, including a grand food and wine festival, elegant degustation dinners, a glamorous Gala Ball, and unique experiences like the Mareeba Sausage and Salami Festival and the FNQ soccer battle.

In 2024, IER partnered with the Cairns Regional Council to assess the festival’s tourism impact on the Cairns regional economy. The evaluation included a post event questionnaire and face-to-face surveying at the event to ensure a representative sample across the nine days of festivities.

The event attracted over 12,000 attendees and generated an impressive 4,439 visitor nights for the Cairns region, including 2,572 nights from interstate visitors. The research found that the Cairns Italian Festival is not only a key driver of visitation, but a strong contributor to social and community impacts, with 90% of attendees agreeing that it is well-liked and positively embraced by the people of Cairns and that the Cairns Italian Festival helps to enhance community spirit, pride and enjoyment.