There’s something special about the Sunshine Coast

WHEN I came to the Sunshine Coast five years ago, I immediately knew there was something special about the place.

Tourism Industry Minister Kate Jones with Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford.

OPINION: WHEN I came to the Sunshine Coast five years ago, I immediately knew there was something special about the place – a certain je ne sais quoi, if you’ll pardon my French.

It wasn’t hard to sell the beaches because they were already well-known as being among Australia’s best, but it was more the ”whole package” that made it stand out.

Put together a really fantastic climate, one of the most glorious and dramatic landscapes in Australia, the richest produce, lots of fun activities for adults and children, and that special feeling of being so near to everything, yet far enough away, and the result is a really intoxicating “vibe”, as Dennis Denuto described it so passionately in the film The Castle.

I brought my wife to the Coast and we immediately had twins, who have thrived in the environment. Though, between a frenetic household – saved only by the sensational Ingrid – and the job of putting the Coast back at the top of Queensland’s tourism regions, it has been a pretty demanding five years. So this is a long way of saying that I have decided to leave the CEO role at Visit Sunshine Coast and take what they call in the business a “well-earned break” to recharge my batteries.

It is going to be difficult to catch up with everyone in the weeks to come, hence this rather public farewell. My goal had always been to restore the region’s tourism fortunes and this was realised in the 2019 domestic and international visitor statistics, which showed we not only broke all records, but recorded the fastest growth in visitor numbers and spend of any region in Queensland.

It has been an incredible achievement by the tourism community. Of course, that glory was short-lived by the arrival of COVID-19. The bushfires may have been bad, but in all my 30 years in the industry, nothing has come close to matching the virus for devastating businesses big and small.

I know the team at VSC is doing everything possible to engineer a recovery, but no one can underestimate the challenges ahead.

But I want to leave on a positive note. That “vibe” that makes the Coast so distinctive will get us through. It’s infectious and wonderful, and my five years on the Coast have been among the most fulfilling of my life. Adieu.

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