AIRLIE Beach turned on the celebrations on Saturday night for Chinese New Year.
Fireworks, firecrackers and lion dancers set the scene at the weekend, with the event proving popular among the community.
Hundreds lined the Airlie Beach foreshore to bring in the year of the sheep, much to the delight of Whitsunday Mayor Jenny Whitney.
“It was fantastic to see so many members of the local community attend the very first Chinese New Year celebrations on Saturday,” she said.
She thanked Whitsunday Chinatown Investment Pty. Ltd and International Student Entrepreneurship Capital Pty. Ltd for sponsoring the very first event and said Council looked forward to working with them in the future to make Chinese New Year in the Whitsunday region bigger and better each year. “Council would also like to thank Whitsunday Marketing and Development Limited (WMDL) for their assistance in organising the event. WMDL have reported a boost to tourism numbers thanks to Chinese New Year with many of the hotels in Airlie Beach reporting near capacity over the weekend.”
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