March 16, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier | Image: Tourism Australia
Destination Gold Coast is launching a new business events campaign locally today before a global rollout at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) next week.
The new campaign positioning the Gold Coast in South East Queensland as “The imagination capital of Australia” combines the Gold Coast’s traditional leisure travel appeal with its strong business events infrastructure and the city’s growing innovation credentials.
“The business events sector is a vital part of our Monday to Friday visitor economy, which prior to the pandemic generated $570 million in economic benefit for the city,” said Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan.
“The imagination capital of Australia takes this city into an all new and exciting era of tourism thought, promotion and action.
“This campaign highlights the breadth and depth of the region because we are much more than our well-known sand and surf, the Gold Coast is a credible business events destination.
“We are a destination bursting with capability and a city coming of age in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Our future events pipeline reflects this with 145 conferences and meetings, worth an estimated $206 million, committed to meet here between now and 2030.
“Where else in the world can you indulge in breakfast onboard an ocean cruise to whale watch and then walk straight into your conference at a state-of-the-art venue before watching the sun set from our kilometres of golden beaches? Only on the Gold Coast,” she said.
Destination Gold Coast chair and general manager of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre Adrienne Readings called the new campaign a “fresh and exciting brand identity”.
“Today is certainly a turning point in how we go out and sell the Gold Coast, and how people will look at our business events hosting credentials into the future,” she said.
“The Gold Coast is a city enabled by technology where entrepreneurship is flourishing, and this is critical to the events sector moving forward. We are also home to learning and innovation, which is attracting huge investment and talent across a range of industries.”
Through its Advance Program, Tourism Australia is supporting the promotion of the new campaign to business events stakeholders internationally.
“The Advance Program offers support for industry-led projects that aim to increase the number and value of business events for Australia,” said Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of Commercial and Business Events Australia Robin Mack.
“With the recent reopening of Australia’s international borders to fully vaccinated travellers, projects like these will help drive demand for Australia and fast track the industry’s recovery.”
Meanwhile the Federal Government’s Recovery for Regional Tourism Program is supporting the Gold Coast’s business events presence at AIME, enabling a significant presence of the city’s business events industry at the show.