Games play wins $20m

Conference call builds lucrative legacy

GOLD Coast Tourism wants to turn the city into the country’s capital for lucrative sportrelated conferences, leveraging the 2018 Commonwealth Games build-up.

Since deciding to target the sector just over 12 months ago, the city has gone from having zero sport-related conferences to 21. Another 20 are at the bidding stage.

Gold Coast Tourism estimates the 21 events pinned down so far will inject about $20 million into the city’s economy and attract 7000 high-yielding delegates.

“It is our responsibility to leverage the Games as much as possible and this is a way to do that,” Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter (pictured) said. “Most conferen- ces need to have a reason to go somewhere because the conference facilities are generally the same. But here a lot of people are interested in the Games facilities being built. “And sport is part of our DNA as a city full of people living active, healthy lifestyles. “We decided to let’s make ourselves the first choice for sporting organisations and conferences and meetings. “It might be a club or a national association of sports medicine. It might be (antidoping authority) WADA. “Why not come here and we can show them all the sporting facilities we have while they’re here?” Last year, more than 2200 business events and conferences were hosted on the Gold Coast, attracting 195,000 delegates. Collectively, they injected $415 million into the local economy. Mr Winter said securing a pipeline of sport conference events could be a major legacy from the Games.

“It’s very important we capitalise on this opportunity.”

Big sports-related conference wins so far include the Surdiman Cup Badminton World Federation AGM with 450 delegates, the 600-person Our Sporting Future National Conference and the 200-person International Footwear Biomechanics Symposium.

All are booked for 2017 while the Australian College of Sports Physicians conference will bring 600 delegates this year and next.

Anna Case, director of Gold Coast Tourism’s business events body, said the sector was “so promising” as it extended beyond sporting codes and sporting bodies.

“We’re also securing business events relating to health and wellness, sports medicine, nutrition, fitness, sporting equipment, apparel and the associated professional services,” she said.

Conference delegates contribute up to three times more than a typical leisure visitor.