Background

Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) commissioned Urban Enterprise to develop a Destination Tourism Plan (DTP) to provide direction for the Sunshine Coast visitor economy from 2020 to 2025. The DTP is designed to be a shared resource for industry, government stakeholders, and funding agencies to guide management and investment across the Sunshine Coast. The purpose of this document is to outline potential strategies, investment opportunities, as well as realistic targets to help grow the Sunshine Coast tourism industry. More specifically, the key project objectives are summarised below:

• Outline the potential value of tourism and events to the wider regional economy;
• Identify and capitalise on any unique features of the Region that provide a distinct competitive advantage;
• Identify unique experiences, product and event development opportunities;
• Confirm a clear tourism strategy and direction for development and growth of the Region; and
• Provide clear, unambiguous measurable targets

Key Visitor Markets

The key visitor markets for the Sunshine Coast are high-yielding visitors, with the purpose of increasing the value of the visitor economy. The region already receives a high volume of visitation. Therefore, to drive growth in the tourism industry and overcome capacity issues, the regional focus should be on extracting maximum value (i.e. visitor expenditure) from visitors. The key visitor markets include:

• Domestic High-Value Travellers (HVT). HVT spend more than the average visitor and, as such, align with state-wide objectives to increase the level of visitor expenditure across Queensland.
• International Experience Seekers. Experience seekers are not characterised by nationality but seek out authentic experiences (in regional areas) which are engaging and have an educational element
• Asian Free Independent Travellers. The number of independent and self-drive Asian visitors has increased in recent years (above other inbound markets) and will provide new opportunities for regional destinations. The growth of the Asian market is expected to be driven by the airport expansion project.

Strategic Consideration

Key considerations and issues for the development of the DTP are outlined below. These help identify strategic themes and future directions to sustainably grow the tourism industry.

• Leveraging from Sunshine Coast’s Strategic Location.
• Accommodating for Growth in Tourism.
• Visitor Value over Volume.
• The Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project.
• Regional Approach & Collaboration.
• Encouraging Visitor Dispersal.
• Activating the Hinterland.
• Development of Eco-Tourism.
• Importance of Tourism Sustainability.
• Food & Beverage Investment.
• Leveraging Events.
• Strategic Marketing & Regional Positioning.
• Developing Arts & Culture Experiences (inc. Indigenous).
• Industry Development.
• Increasing VSC Operating Budget