Developing a major events strategy for the Gold Coast

Developing a major events strategy for the Gold Coast

The Griffith Institute for Tourism was commissioned by Major Events Gold Coast in late 2021 to develop a new events strategy for the Gold Coast.

This strategy was informed by extensive background research. This included a best practice audit of the major event portfolios of four world-class event destinations (Melbourne, San Diego, Edinburgh and Auckland). From these learnings, current practices supporting the Gold Coast’s major events portfolio were mapped in terms of event organiser and event customer touchpoints. This analysis revealed that online interconnectivity between key Gold Coast event stakeholders needed to be streamlined to improve the touchpoints for event organisers and visitors and that opportunities to leverage destination promotion and other benefits for the city were not being fully realised.

A detailed consultation process followed that sought to harness local knowledge and expertise through engagement with key stakeholders including event owners/promoters, event venue operators, tourism partners, politicians and City of Gold Coast representatives. An online survey (n = 115 responses) opened to the general public also provided the opportunity for community input into the strategy. The consultation and strategy development were guided by a Stakeholder Reference Group comprising senior stakeholder representatives that met monthly during the course of the project.

The draft strategy was delivered to Major Events Gold Coast in June 2022.