The Qantas Australian Tourism Awards has chosen Sunshine Coast, Queensland as the host destination for the 2021 event.
The ceremony will be held in March 2021 at the Sunshine Coast Convention Centre, located within Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort, and is expected to attract more than 850 award finalists and tourism leaders from across the country.
The announcement was made at the 2020 awards night, held in Canberra on Friday, 6 March.
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford said the event is a major coup for the region.
“It’s a credit to the Sunshine Coast tourism industry as a whole and the collaborative efforts of the Queensland Government, Tourism and Events Queensland, Sunshine Coast Council, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and Sunshine Coast Airport,” he said.
“Winning the tourism industry’s premier awards event is massive and will result in a significant injection of over 850 extra visitors to the region in an off-peak time – a very welcome boost for local operators.”
Sunshine Coast Events Board chair Maya Gurry said the event will contribute an estimated $1.3 million to the local economy.
“Hosting the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards is highly coveted by tourism destinations across Australia, as it provides the opportunity to raise the profile of our region and showcase our capabilities to the best of the tourism industry,” she said.
“The awards were last hosted in Queensland in 2012 and we are thrilled that the state government and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council have such high confidence in the Sunshine Coast’s ability to deliver an outstanding tourism industry gala.”
For the year ending September 2019, business and business events travel to the Sunshine Coast increased by a record 34.6 per cent, bringing 379,000 visitors to the region.
