Vision Hotels and Resorts’ flagship property, The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa, has been named one of the Top 10 places for families to stay in the South Pacific for the second year in a row.

General Manager of Vision Hotels and Resorts Craig Biber said The Lakes was named eighth best family accommodation in the South Pacific in this year’s 2010 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards.

“This is a real testament to the staff at The Lakes who have worked extremely well to overcome our difficult economy and associated challenges of the past 12 months,” he said.

“It is a great honour to be named among the world’s best hotels which have earnt their distinction from those who know them best – real travellers,” he said.

Chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor Christine Petersen said the Travellers' Choice winners were based on millions of real and unbiased opinions about hotels on tripadvisor.com and content from across the web.

“From remarkable bargains to the trendiest hotels, travellers worldwide have recognised more than 700 hotels for their outstanding service, value and quality in the eighth year of the awards.”

Situated only 3km from the Cairns International Airport and 3km from the Cairns CBD, The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa is an award-winning 4.5 star resort situated on 4ha of lush tropical gardens, scenic lakes and large resort style pools.

Workers and families in the Mt Isa region are being lured to Tropical North Queensland with discount flights and holiday packages during summer.

Tourism business development company Parker Travel Collection has formed an alliance with Skytrans to present the first of a series of holiday campaigns with special fares on the four weekly air services from Mt Isa to Cairns starting at $99 one way.

Skytrans Queensland Hot Deals accommodation packages are available in Cairns city, at the beaches, Port Douglas, Daintree and Green Island with prices starting at $130 for three nights. Tour packages are also on offer with reef and rainforest trips, plus some of Tropical North Queensland’s iconic attractions on offer.

Parker Travel Collection Managing Director Todd Parker said the campaign was the first of its kind in regional Queensland where an innovative approach was needed to sell holidays during summer.

“A holiday at the beach, a rainforest sojourn or a city getaway is ideal for the Mt Isa market and we already have the advantage of frequent Skytrans connections, so Tropical North Queensland is the perfect place for families and mine company employees to take a break,” he said.

“This is the beginning of a mining and regional strategy for Parker Travel Collection and we are very proud to be working so closely with Skytrans to develop a long-term sales solution for regional Queensland.”

Skytrans Commercial Manager Steve Jones said the Skytrans Queensland Hot Deals campaign between Mt Isa and Tropical North Queensland was the first step in the company’s goal to develop a Skytrans Holidays division satisfying all the ports within the network with accommodation, attractions, touring and holiday packages. 

“This would increase the use of Skytrans flights and establish us as a pioneer in developing Central, Regional and Tropical North Queensland from a tourism perspective while working hand in hand with the growth in the mining and agriculture sectors.

“We are very excited about the long-term development of an airline holiday product range for a very unique market.

“The team at Parker Travel Collection offers the infrastructure, products, experience and skills to develop this range and, as they are already actively involved in developing saleable tourism in central Queensland, we can capitalise on this and then grow further into Cape York Peninsula.”

Mr Jones said the Skytrans Queensland Hot Deals brochure would be distributed on all Skytrans Flights and by travel agencies and companies in the region.

Pictured above: Mike Thinee - General Manager Commerical, Todd Parker - Managing Director, Parker Travel Collection, Steve Jones - Manager Commericial, Muralee Siva - CEO