Big dollars follow big business gatherings
BUSINESS tourism is booming on the Gold Coast with the convention and symposium market bringin hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy every year.
Some of the major business events on the Coast this year like the SportAccord, The Professional Footballers Australia and Australian Archaeological Association conferences, to name a few, are expected to attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.
The half a billion dollar industry is a major driver in the Coast’s tourism industry and is expected to grow in the future as more and more events show off the city.
“The Gold Coast continues to punch above our weight to attract major events and prominent business events from around the world,” Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said.
“Our city has never been in a better position to attract and host major business events – our offering is phenomenal from our venues and infrastructure to our beaches, hinterland, and tourism portfolio is second to none. The Gold Coast attracted $540 million worth of business events last financial year; more than 3000 meetings and conferences and 222,000 delegates.”
Ms Battista said the city had a massive global appeal and was leading Queensland in attracting business tourism.
“The Gold Coast has a large stake of Queensland’s business events market – attracting 44 per cent of all conferences, over the past financial year.
“Our global appeal is also on the rise and the figures from the world’s conference authority – International Congress and Convention Association – positions the Coast in fourth spot nationally, after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
“The Gold Coast is the only regional destination to rank so high in the country.”
She said the whole of the Coast benefited from these large scale events.
“The flow-on effect for tourism and for the economy from business events is substantial, with a vast majority of dollars ending up in or accommodation facilities, restaurants, attractions, theme parks and in tourism experiences.