Tourism & The visitor Economy

Experience Gold Coast’s visitor economy stream represents our tourism industry at a local, state and federal level, and generates increased demand from domestic and international visitors, with the goal to enhance the city’s reputation as the Lifestyle Capital of Australia. 

As the region’s peak visitor economy body, Experience Gold Coast has helped build the Gold Coast’s tourism sector to become the fourth largest visitor destination in Australia.

Experience Gold Coast collaborates with local industry, state and national tourism bodies, the City of Gold Coast and travel trade to best promote our beautiful city, domestically and world-wide. In the international domain, Experience Gold Coast engages with both consumers and trade in key international markets including New Zealand, China, Japan, Singapore and South East Asia through regular tactical campaigns, in-market missions and publicity opportunities.

In the domestic travel market, our team of experienced sales and marketing professionals deliver cut through strategies and campaigns to promote a fresh and positive perspective on the Gold Coast to reach new audiences across consumer, trade, media and travel industry channels. 

Experience Gold Coast operates as a membership-based marketing organisation, and our 500 tourism members include operators and service providers across the city. We’re passionate about positioning the Gold Coast as a must-visit location, sharing our amazing attractions, accommodation, venues, events, coastline and hinterland with the rest of Australia and the world to increase visitor demand and ignite our visitor economy.

Experience Gold Coast also manages the accredited Visitor Information Centre in Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise, which provides valuable on-the-go planning, information, and easy online booking for accommodation, tours and transport. 

Experience Gold Coast serves to lead and speak on behalf of the visitor economy in state and national forums through collaboration, communications, data and advocacy. Liaising with key stakeholders and partners in local, state and federal government, Experience Gold Coast puts partnerships in place to help grow our local economy and increase our status in international and domestic visitor markets. 

Connectivity is key to building a stronger visitor economy and through partnerships with airlines, Gold Coast Airport and Brisbane Airport, we advocate for and support increased aviation access to key priority markets in the domestic and international space. We also work closely with the private sector to garner support for policies and initiatives that underpin a thriving visitor economy with a focus on Indigenous, accessibility, and sustainability. 

Through building relationships and organisations like Tourism Australia and Tourism Events Queensland, Experience Gold Coast ensures the Gold Coast gets a bigger voice that can be heard on the world stage. Our organisation works in alignment with the City of Gold Coast, lobbying to ensure that our city’s infrastructure projects remain at the forefront of state and federal funding priorities. With our strategic partners, Experience Gold Coast will seek dedicated marketing, events, and sports investment attraction funding in the lead up to 2032, when our city takes to the global stage as co-host of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Experience Gold Coast has a tourism membership base of around 500 Gold Coast operators from accommodation and tour providers, to transport, attractions and entertainment venues. Members receive a wide range of benefits such as the potential to be involved with cooperative marketing campaigns and promotions, strategic business development and experience development support, industry run training events and government funding opportunities.

Members receive access to powerful research and marketing tools, qualified data, engaging networking events, industry development initiatives, ongoing advocacy and a connection to a passionate community of industry peers with a deep resource of collective knowledge, experience and connections. Experience Gold Coast also presents valuable opportunities for members to join them on supported interstate and international marketing activities like trade missions and media familiarisations.