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| The Sunshine Coast |
The Sunshine Coast takes in famed beach locations such as Caloundra, Maroochydore, Noosa and Rainbow Beach as well as scenic Hinterland areas mountain villages and rainforest. The Sunshine Coast is serviced by its own airport, and is also just one hour's north of Brisbane Airport.
The growth in visitor numbers was complemented by an even greater increase of 12% in nights-stayed by international visitors, reflecting success in the Sunshine Coast's objective of increasing the length of stay.
Some of the stand-out international performers included:
– Canada – up 34.4%
– Germany – up 29%
– New Zealand – up 18.4%
– France – up 5.8%
The growth follows the launch of new campaigns to highlight that while the Sunshine Coast offers some of Australia's finest beach destinations, the region offers a far wider range of attractions than just water-related activities.
“We are fortunate to have an incredibly attractive climate that makes the region ideal for events, activities and holidays,” said Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd CEO, Simon Ambrose.
“Our beaches will always be a central attraction, and with the launch of new activities such as the Great Beach Drive and Swimming with Whales, we are providing new reasons for international visitors to return to the Sunshine Coast.
“Equally, the region is establishing its position as a premier food destination with world-class cooking schools, restaurants, food markets and producers, who are delivering everything from feijoas and snails to cheese and prime beef.
“The Noosa Farmer's Market and Eumundi Markets are consistently rated Australia's best, and we are working closely with Tourism Australia to showcase the quality of the Sunshine Coast's food and restaurants, with a new mobile food trail due to be launched in August 2015, which will help visitors explore the food scene at their own pace.
“With the Sunshine Coast's easy proximity to Brisbane, we are attracting growing numbers from south east Asia, and we see good prospects for building numbers from China and Japan, especially experienced travelers interested in high-end tourism experiences such as golf, spas, food and nature tours.
“Nature is at the heart of our destination's promotional strategy, whether it be swimming with whales, diving, trekking or learning to paddle-board in our pristine waters.
“We are also seeing increasing numbers of international travelers coming to the region to take part in events, with the Sunshine Coast to host major surfing, ironman, triathlon and outrigging championships in the next two years, along with significant art, cultural and cuisine festivals.
“To support the Sunshine Coast's tourism and events drive, we have made calls for the upgrade of Sunshine Coast Airport. We are also working hard to encourage new attractions and international hotel brands to establish on the Sunshine Coast.
“We expect 2015-16 to continue strong growth from our traditional international markets, and also grow business from emerging markets.”
(* The latest International Visitor Survey figures cover the year to September 2014, compared to the same period in 2013).
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