The Gold Coast Bulletin

Push to make most of exposure from Games

- KATHLEEN SKENE BUSINESS EDITOR

WHILE the sport is over, the business of the Commonweal­th Games is just gearing up, as Gold Coasters look for their share of a projected $2 billion injection into the economy.

In New Zealand, a key visitor market, 2.7 million people tuned in for the Gold Coast Games – more than watched the Rio Olympics.

Vast audiences were also logged in Malyasia and the UK, while Channel 7 appealed to a solid domestic audience.

Gold Coast Tourism corporate affairs director Dean Gould said, as well as showing

“We were happy with the exposure the destinatio­n received, but that’s only stage one – stage two is all of us working to capitalise on that.”

Gold Coast Tourism has pushed the button on a raft of new marketing campaigns from this week, including a pitch to up to 7 million backpacker­s and other young travellers in the UK.

Potential domestic visitors are also being targeted with a campaign that emphasises the Gold Coast’s dining options.

A Griffith University study on the potential economic impacts of the Games found they would increase the Gross State Product of Queensland by $2 billion and boost employment by 16,440 full-time equivalent positions.

It found the event would attract about 672,000 visitors in the event year, generating $323 million, with a further 490,000 visitors and $550 million generated over nine years, including the four years before and after the Games.

Queensland Airport Limited’s Paul Donovan, chairman of Gold Coast Tourism, is at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Adelaide, where he said local stallholde­rs had already received positive feedback about the Games.

“It’s hard to extrapolat­e the long-term benefits, but it would be mega millions,” he said.

The optimism is not restricted to Commonweal­th countries, with up to 8000 Chinese delegates set to splash $50 million next month as personal healthcare giant Infinitus rewards their top employees with a weeklong Gold Coast holiday.

Commonweal­th Games and Tourism Industry Developmen­t Minister Kate Jones is travelling to Thailand this week for the SportAccor­d Convention. Tourism and Events Queensland has previously secured Gold Coast events including the 2017 BWF Sudirman Cup, the ITU World Triathlon Championsh­ips and 2020 Bowls World Championsh­ips at the same convention.

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