Gladstone to host Queensland's largest major events forum

Queensland

Gladstone will host Queensland’s leading tourism and events forum, DestinationQ, for the first time in history later this year.

Tourism and events industry groups, businesses, local councils and other stakeholders are invited to attend the DestinationQ18 Events Conference, run by Tourism and Events Queensland, at the Gladstone Entertainment Convention Centre on August 8.

The regional DestinationQ forum will be followed later in the year by an indigenous forum and the statewide DestinationQ conference on the Gold Coast in November.

Gladstone MP Glenn Butcher said the Gladstone DestinationQ forum was a valuable opportunity for Queensland’s events industry to collaborate, learn from experts and develop new ways to build successful and sustainable events for the state.

“Events generate significant economic benefit for Queensland and support thousands of jobs across the state,” he said.

“The theme of the forum is ‘remaining relevant in the ever-changing event landscape’ and across the day delegates will hear from speakers about a range of topics like the importance of succession planning, engaging the community and event legacy.

“The day will include insights from guest speakers, Q and A sessions, panel discussions and networking breaks.

“The fact that we’re holding the state’s leading tourism and events forum in Gladstone is a vote of confidence in the local tourism industry.

“For every dollar we invest in major events, we get $10 back, so events are a crucial part of our strategy to grow Queensland’s $25 billion tourism industry.”

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said it was important the industry took advantage of Queensland’s heightened profile and exposure following the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

“The eyes of the world were on Queensland in April and now is the time to build on that success for the future of events across Queensland,” she said.

“The Southern Great Barrier Reef region, which includes Gladstone, Rockhampton and Bundaberg, has grown over the past three years, with a 3.4 per cent increase in overnight visitor expenditure to more than $1.1 billion in the year ending December 2017.

“We want to build on that growth and we know that hosting great events is a way to do that.

“Tourism and Events Queensland’s It’s Live! in Queensland calendar is worth $780 million to the state’s economy. That calendar continues to grow, enhancing Queensland’s reputation as Australia’s leading events destination.”

Ms Jones encouraged tourism operators across the region to register for the Gladstone event, following on from a hugely successful 2017 event in Toowoomba, where 275 tourism and events stakeholders attended.

“By continually improving the way we grow and leverage events, our events calendar can develop even further, while providing huge benefits to Queensland’s economy,” she said.

For more information, visit the DestinationQ website.