Mr Wettenhall said Jetstar would introduce 18 more domestic weekly flights into Cairns as well as the four-times-a-week Osaka-Cairns service.

"This is great news for Tropical North Queensland after what has been a challenging period for the region's tourism industry," Mr Wettenhall said.

"Jetstar will introduce an additional two weekly flights into Cairns from both Adelaide and Perth on 28 March and a move to twice-daily flights from Sydney and Melbourne from 1 April.

"This will add 3186 domestic seats and 18 flights per week into Cairns and help increase visitation during the peak Easter holiday season."

Mr Wettenhall said the additional flights coincided with the much heralded reinstatement of Jetstar's Osaka-Cairns services on 1 April.

"Jetstar's direct four-times-a-week Osaka-Cairns flights will make it possible for an additional 1212 passengers from Japan to fly into the region each week," he said.

"It's wonderful to see these flights from Osaka returning and helping provide a boost in visitors from Tropical North Queensland's key Japanese market.

"I am sure the local tourism industry will join me in congratulating Jetstar on the re-instatement of the Osaka-Cairns route and lay out a warm welcome mat to our first Japanese visitors arriving on this service.

"In total, Jetstar's additional domestic and Osaka-Cairns services add up to 4400 seats into Cairns each week, which means aviation is helping lead the charge for a recovery in Tropical North Queensland."

Mr Lawlor said tourism played a major role in the Tropical North with 1.52 million domestic visitors and 651,000 international visitors heading to the region in 2009.

"The strength of the Tropical North Queensland tourism industry relies on the continued support of our aviation partners," he said.

"The State Government and Tourism Queensland are working together to make sure that the tourism industry continues to receive the support it needs to recovery and grow in the wake of tough times."