“This digital-led campaign is an acknowledgement by us of all the effort and contributions they have made on behalf of their company,” said Destination Gold Coast’s head of business events, Selina Sinclair of the delegates the destination is aiming to attract.
“But more than that, it’s a reward. A way to say thank you for all the amazing work they have put in and give them something amazing and truly memorable in return, a Gold Coast trip. The incentive they deserve.”
Although the Gold Coast has been focussing on its intellectual capabilities since launching its “Imagination capital of Australia” campaign at Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) in 2022, the destination is also well suited to the incentive market with its 300 days of sunshine each year, 56km of beaches, a subtropical climate and a well-developed experiences offering.
The region is also in the middle of a luxury hotel boom, with the Australian debut of the JW Marriott on the Gold Coast in 2020, the opening of The Langham, Gold Coast in 2021 and both The Ritz-Carlton and a St. Regis to open on the Gold Coast in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
According to Destination Gold Coast, there are 160 experiences within half an hour of the oceanside city.
The Gold Coast’s pipeline of incentive events already has an impressive win locked in for 2025, with Amway Thailand set to bring 1,500 incentive delegates to the destination, which is expected to inject $5 million into the local economy.
“The Gold Coast saw incentive travel groups reduced to 3.7 per cent [in] 2021-2022 during the pandemic, so it’s exciting to see the rebuilding of visitation through effective marketing and working collaboratively with the City of Gold Coast, Government, our industry and stakeholders,” said Sinclair.
In the 2019-2020 financial year, incentives made up 12.9 per cent of all business events held on the Gold Coast.
Destination Gold Coast’s new campaign is the result of a partnership with Tourism Australia’s business events unit, Business Events Australia, through their Advance Program, which supports international marketing efforts by Australia’s business events industry.
With a refurbished international terminal reopening recently at Gold Coast Airport, the Gold Coast has direct air connections with Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Bali, although some of these are via low-cost airlines, which are not as conducive to the incentive market.
