Asian runners are flocking to participate in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon

ASIAN competitors are flocking to the Gold Coast Marathon with six times the number of runners this year from China alone.

Start of the Southern Cross University 10Km run at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon, Southport.

THE number of Asian competitors in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon is continuing to build — with almost six times the number of runners this year from China alone.

Gold Coast marathon chief executive Cam Hart said while the Japanese revival continued, China was a growing market organisers were keen to continue developing. Numbers have jumped from about 25 runners last year to 140 this year and exponential growth is possible.

“We’ve got some significant representatives from Chinese business coming who set up corporate recreational running groups,’’ Mr Hart said.

“They’re coming down to participate and check this event out with the view to bringing out part of their huge Chinese corporate running groups. We’re trying to do the right thing by those people to give them a good experience and it’ll help not only the running side but the tourism side.

“Particularly (in light of) recent stories about investment in the Gold Coast from China, we’re ticking the boxes there.’’

Asian tourists love competing in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon

Mr Hart said the ability to fly directly into the Gold Coast from several Asian centres was a strong selling point for the event. “Japan is still incredibly strong for us and that’s growing. We’ve got Hong Kong and Taiwan going extremely well but South-East Asia through Malaysia and Singapore, incredible numbers there and part of that is the ability to fly directly into the city,’’ he said.

“And that’s one of the great synergies in having a naming rights partnership with Gold Coast airport. Many people can fly directly in, so we can work with the airport to talk to the airlines to help some of these things happen.’’

Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer Paul Donovan said major events remained an “absolutely critical’’ driver of tourism on the Coast.

“Events are one of the key reasons that Gold Coast Tourism as a city is doing well,’’ Mr Donovan said.

“If you look at the events — the Magic Millions, the Titans, the Suns, the marathon and the surf lifesaving, the PGA golf — it just goes on and on.

“That’s what brings a whole lot of people. Tourism and Events Queensland play a big part in that, Gold Coast Tourism plays a part, the airport does, the Gold Coast City Council are fantastic because they have an events strategy.

“It’s all about working together to ensure it all happens. Being an (IAAF) Gold Label event now is fantastic, but the Gold Coast marathon showcases the whole of the length and breadth of the city to 690 million homes,’’ he said.