Sell bush, tucker, to tourists

said 78 per cent of Gold Coast visitors came from elsewhere in Australia and were the industry’s “bread and butter”.

“While developing the Asian market adds icing to the cake, the Gold Coast as a destination can only thrive if it has domestic appeal,” she said.

“To make informed decisions it is important to ask the customers themselves what they want.”

Rainforest experiences were a top priority for 40 per cent of the survey respondents.

Gold Coast Tourism chairman Paul Donovan said he agreed for the need to promote dining and natural attractions.

“To be quite honest it’s one of the things we have been bashing the drum on,” he said.

“It’s not just the domestic market, it’s the family market – we need to get them back.

“The food and cafe offering is first class now ... We understand there is a gap in the market and we need to fill it.”