Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre says 2021 and 2022 look to be good years for the sector after Covid19 downturn

New figures from the Gold Coast’s leading convention centre show the sector is poised to rebound next year from a raft of cancellations.

UP to 90 per cent of this year’s bookings at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre have re-signed to appear next year.

The lucrative conference industry was another big loser in the coronavirus fallout, cruelled by social and travel restrictions. Most bookings were cancelled, hurting thousands of jobs in the hospitality and accommodation industries.

Conferences to be rebooted next year include the Australian Cotton Conference and the international Eco Summit.

GCCEC bosses are now hoping for certainty on the reopening of the border so this year’s spring and summer bookings can go ahead.

The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre Executive Chef Garry Kindred (left) and Sous Chef Adam Hall are show support to community organisations and educational institutions during COVID-19. Photograph: Jason O'Brien

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Sales and marketing director Michelle Mann said 85 to 90 per cent of conferences cancelled this year would be on the Coast next year.

“They (the conference organisers) have been quite good,” she said. “If we can’t get the exact date they have been flexible enough just to move into the gaps we do have in the calendar and it’s been like playing Tetris to be honest.”

Ms Mann said other organisers were unsure of being able to hold their conferences at all.

“It has been a moving target,” she said. “We have had some international conferences that have cancelled and can’t see a date for international borders opening.”

Ms Mann said the NSW border closure was also an issue for Australian conferences scheduled for September and October.

The Supernova Comic Con & Gaming held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is a popular event. Pics Adam Head

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“We have events coming towards the end of the year but we are just waiting to reopen,” she said.

“There are clients just hanging in there, particularly in September. They are waiting for the borders to open and then they are ready to go.”

Conference centre staff have also been busy booking events for 2022.

Yesterday, the International Society for Eye Research announced it had booked its conference at GCCEC for 2022, generating 3800 visitor nights and injecting $2.4 million into the economy.

The Australian Cotton Conference has been a regular fixture on the Gold Coast since the 1990s. Here Design Academy students show off their creations at the 2010 conference.

GCCEC worked closely with Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination Gold Coast and Tourism Australia to secure the meeting.

Tourism Minister Kate Jones said conferences were critical for the Coast economy.

“Queensland’s tourism industry is enduring an incredibly difficult time and while our focus is on the here and now, we must also keep an eye on the future and continue to secure events that will support our economy,” Ms Jones said.

Australian Cotton Conference manager Tracey Byrne-Morrison said the organisation took a hit when it cancelled this year’s event, scheduled for August.

“We were fortunate enough to get our exact same week the following year,” she said. “We are normally a biennial event.”

The last conference in 2018 attracted 2600 people, many of whom stayed in Broadbeach.