Pot of gold on offer

Likely boost in visitors worth motza

GOLD Coast Tourism has promised it won’t be resting on its laurels after the huge global exposure delivered by staging the 21st Commonwealth Games.

Games TV coverage was broadcast to an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide and Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan told the Bulletin he believed the marketing generated by the event was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But Gold Coast Tourism executive director of corporate affairs and strategy Dean Gould said despite that huge sugar hit of exposure “you can’t just sit back now and hope”.

“If you were putting it in rugby terms, the Games has put us through this enormous gap but there are still 20 metres to the tryline – and you

“The exposure from the Commonwealth Games will be in the hundreds of millions in terms of PR value.”

Figures estimated 672,000 visitors were attracted during the two weeks generating a $320 million economic boost across Queensland.

Coast-based Federal Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo said he wouldn’t call the Games the best advertising campaign money couldn’t buy: “We tipped in $330 million and the State Government tipped in $1.5 billion at least. But what was the Commonwealth Games all about? As someone who has been there since day one of the journey, yes, it’s about the two weeks but really what it was actually about was building infrastructure for this city to last decades.

“In five or 10 years time, Gold Coasters will look back on this as being the springboard for our city. It’s a coming of age for our city.”