The Sunshine Coast is ranked as one of Australia’s top tourism markets. The region’s natural assets, from coastal beaches to hinterland forests, coupled with designated tourism investment areas and national standard sporting facilities provide excellent opportunities for new developments in accommodation, sport and leisure.

Eleven million guests visited the wider Sunshine Coast region in 2018 and spent A$3.3 billion (TEQ, 2019).

A range of exciting new tourism investments are currently underway and/or in detailed planning, including the A$303 million Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project, the Mooloolaba Foreshore Redevelopment and various hotel and resort developments.

Investment snapshot:

• A new A$8 million convention centre at Novotel Twin Waters Resort caters for up to 1,500 delegates
• A A$9 million redevelopment of the University of the Sunshine Coast Stadium has expanded its capacity to 3,000 seats
• An A$8 million expansion of Australia Zoo will deliver wildlife camping experiences
• An initial A$6.8 million investment in the renewal of the Big Pineapple will focus on ecotourism, agribusiness, entertainment and education.

The Sunshine Coast plays host to several major sporting events such as the Mooloolaba Triathlon, Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast, and a range of other sports competitions and events each year. The Sunshine Coast Lightning netball team, the region’s first national league sporting franchise, were Suncorp Netball Series back-to-back premiers in 2018.

The region has a thriving business events and conference sector with more than 310 events per year which is an annual growth of 4.44% growth in delegate days and a 16.8% growth in average length of stay (Queensland Business Events Survey Results, 2018).

A highly skilled and educated workforce is ready to work, with hospitality one of the largest employers in the region.