Sporting highlights to pump up Gold Coast branding internationally

TWO upcoming major sports events will give the Gold Coast a significant boost in its branding as a business events destination, said Gold Coast Tourism Corporation chief executive, Martin Winter.

The Australian city will host the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in August and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in April.

“(These games) give us a big opportunity to attract a myriad of business events in allied activities, such as sports science and sports medicine meetings and conferences,” Winter said, adding that tourism and related businesses in the city and its surroundings will benefit from “big teams that come to the Gold Coast in the lead up to the games for training and acclimatisation”.

Although athletes participating in the Commonwealth Games will be housed in a Games Village equipped with some 8,000 dwellings, hotels in the destination will benefit from these advance teams, said Winter.

“There are approximately 65,000 beds in the Gold Coast – more than what’s available in most other capital cities – which will provide sufficient accommodation (for the advance teams),” he explained.

Although Winter acknowledged that the city will be packed out and accommodation capacity stretched during the games, he believes the impact on business events will be minimal as events unrelated to sports and the games will likely be held “at a different time”.

Winning the games’ hosting rights also presents the Gold Coast with new opportunities to market itself to international consumers.

“The Gold Coast is given an 11-minute opportunity during the Glasgow 2014 closing ceremony to promote the destination and the next Commonwealth Games. Besides that, we will have ground presence in central Glasgow where people can go and get information on the 2018 Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“A string of activities” will be rolled out to promote the destination and the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but details can only be revealed after the conclusion of the Glasgow edition, which will run from July 23 to August 3.

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