Boost to Bluesfest
and new chief financial officer Simone Twiss would help the festival and its associated businesses “continue confidently into the future”.
Mr Romer, a longtime Bluesfest devotee, has served as a director on the board of the Arts Centre Gold Coast since he moved back to the city from Sydney in 2014.
“I’ve been a long-time attendee of Bluesfest,” he said.
“I’ve been to festivals all around the world and I still keep coming back to Bluesfest as my favourite.”
Mr Romer said owning its own venue and ticketing put Bluesfest in “a box seat” on the festival landscape.
“It really seems that Bluesfest is a very sustainable festival with three generations of families going there.
“We’ve got a lot of loyalty with a great fanbase.”
Like an increasing number of the 110,000 people who pour through the festival’s gates each Easter, Mr Romer will commute to Tyagarah from the Coast.
Mr Romer said businesses on the southern Gold Coast enjoyed an increasing share of the event’s economic spoils as it continued to grow.
The more than 200 performers at this year’s 28th Bluesfest accounted for 573 individual bookings for all touring flights in and out of Gold Coast Airport across the Easter long weekend in April.
The artists alone also generated 515 room nights at Peppers, 389 room nights at Mantra Salt and 637 room nights at Twin Towns during the Easter long weekend.
Throw in flights and accommodation for many of the punters and you’ve got a sizeable boost for the economy.