Sunshine Coast launches bid to cash in on Commonwealth Games refugees
SUNSHINE Coast tourism bosses are going deep into competition territory to lure Commonwealth Games refugees from their glitzier southern sister the Gold Coast with a huge marketing blitz kicking off this month.
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SUNSHINE Coast tourism bosses are going deep into competition territory to lure Commonwealth Games refugees from their glitzier southern sister the Gold Coast and grab a slice of the action.
The Sunshine Coast will start plastering social media and billboards on the Gold Coast from March 16 with repeat messages that it offers an “escape” from the Commonwealth Games hustle and bustle.
Marketing boss Simon Latchford said previous major sporting events had shown significant numbers of residents rented out their homes and apartments to get away from the crowds and went on holiday somewhere nearby.
He said catching those people was part of a three-pronged approach to boosting numbers on the Sunshine Coast, which was also going after visitors drawn to the Games and keen to stick around for longer, as well as the market of friends and families of athletes who have travelled to Queensland to spur on their competitors.
The campaign so far tagged “Escape to the Sunshine Coast” will start appearing across the Gold Coast and Brisbane featuring images that highlight the north coast’s beaches but also its hinterland and food and experience offer, Mr Latchford said, and will run through the Games period as well as its lead-up.
Gold Coast Tourism Corporation spokesman Dean Gould said the region was expecting 670,000 visitors during the two weeks of the Games, up from an average 500,000 a fortnight normally.
“We think southeast Queensland in general will benefit from the Games but the party is on the Gold Coast,” Mr Gould said.
The latest National Visitor Statistics (NVS) for the 12 months ending September show the Sunshine Coast attracted 3.4 million overnight visitors.
Of these, 2.6 million were overnight visitors from inside Queensland, with 1.7 million from Brisbane and 236,000 from the Gold Coast.
GOLDOC chairman Peter Beattie said there were “plenty of tourists to share”.
“Good on them,” he said. “I just think that is good competitiveness.
“The Gold Coast will more than hold its own because that’s were the events are, that’s where the tourists go, but there is no reason why they can’t be shared.
“And I think everyone in Queensland needs to benefit and the more of this the better.”
Originally published as Sunshine Coast launches bid to cash in on Commonwealth Games refugees
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