Sunshine Coast ramps up international focus

The Sunshine Coast is ramping up its play for international business events, as its tourism body emerged reinvigorated from a challenging year with a new chief executive at its helm and additional funding in its pocket.

Although it has had no chief executive in place for a significant portion of the year, it now has Simon Ambrose at its helm. Under its new leadership, the organisation is once again looking towards overseas markets to win their meetings and incentives business.

Business events manager Lauren Hofman told The Nibbler that the meetings and incentives market now represents a “huge priority” for the local council. The mayor even attended trade show AIME earlier this year which had “opened his eyes” to the potential of the sector.

The tourism body has also won some contestable funding from Tourism and Events Queensland which will enable it to expand its international incentive marketing efforts.

“The next 12 months will see us doing a lot more,” Hofman said, with international trade shows and the Tourism Australia roadshow through South-east Asia on the agenda.

“But Asian markets are still a couple of years away,” she admitted. They currently account for less than 5% of numbers to the region.

Meanwhile, New Zealand remains a major market thanks to Air New Zealand’s direct services to the Sunshine Coast which have just been confirmed to return next year.