The Gold Coast is receiving a surge in enquiries from Asian markets, and seems to be attracting international interest from larger than expected groups.

Destination Gold Coast’s signature business events showcase This Is Gold Coast (TIGC) was successfully held last week with a record 33 per cent of international delegates from its top overseas markets of Singapore, Malaysia, US, UK, New Zealand and Japan.

The event was aimed at affirming the Gold Coast’s new positioning as Australia’s Imagination Capital, highlighting its creative credentials from Hollywood movie-making to groundbreaking work in health and science.

The number of overseas delegates represented echoed the rising global interest in the Gold Coast for business events beyond its bread and butter clientele from the domestic market.

“We have seen a huge influx of requests, particularly from the Asian markets, all looking for an incentive travel destination,” Destination Gold Coast’s head of business events, Selina Sinclair, told TTGmice.

“A high percentage of those are coming from direct selling companies, searching for destinations that are open and able to help them create those lasting memories without restrictions, and we’re obviously one of those destinations today,” she said.

Sinclair also noted that contrary to industry expectations, the size of incentive groups intending to travel are larger than numbers that were typical for pre-Covid years.

“I expected the trend to be that groups were smaller and more bespoke, but it’s actually 100 per cent the reverse,” said Sinclair.

“Companies haven’t been able to take their attendees abroad for a long time, and some industries have actually done quite well over the last few years. So some of those groups that have requested to come here are 30 to 40 per cent greater in numbers than what we would’ve seen from a request of the same group in the years prior,” she said.

A Malaysian manager with World Travellers attending TIGC, who preferred not to be named, confirmed the trend to TTGmice:

“One of my clients has doubled the size of their group intending to travel before the end of the year. Once borders reopened, everyone fought to be eligible for the trip, and they now have 1,200 preparing to travel,” he said