Australia's largest nostalgia festival celebrated record growth in 2019 with new data released today showing more than 120,000 people attended Cooly Rocks On this year – generating nearly $7 million for the Gold Coast economy.
Assistant Tourism Industry Development Minister and Member for Gaven Meaghan Scanlon said the record attendance at the 2019 event showed the value of the festival to the southern Gold Coast.
"Local businesses rely on events like this to grow. That's why we invest in festivals like Cooly Rocks On because they support local jobs and support local businesses," she said.
Ms Scanlon said visitor nights were up by 16 per cent to 24,219 while expenditure had grown by 15 per cent to $6.92 million.
"Cooly Rocks On has experienced impressive growth from year-to-year," she said.
"This is particularly important during winter which is classically a quieter time of year for the tourism industry."
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the government was committed to growing events to grow the tourism industry on the Coast.
"Major events bring tourists to the Gold Coast which means a boost to local businesses," she said.
"Today's results show that our strategy to grow events that will support jobs and tourism growth is working."
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said Cooly Rocks On is a great success story for the Southern Gold Coast.
"Cooly Rocks On has become an annual pilgrimage for many people across Australia which is testament to the quality of the event and its offerings," he said.
"We are a major events city and this is an economic success story for Coolangatta and part of the fabric of the Southern Gold Coast."
Connecting Southern Gold Coast CEO Josh Martin said he was proud of the growth of the event.
"We want to say thank you to the City of Gold Coast and also TEQ for their support of this incredible festival that delivers a vital boost for local businesses. Their ongoing support is critical to the success this premier five day event while keeping it free to attend," he said.
"Cooly Rocks On brings to life the Southern Gold Coast by celebrating its rich history and we are proud of the legacy it leaves for the stakeholders in the region. The enormous financial injection the festival gives to a quiet tourism period is remarkable and is something we work really hard to achieve."
"As a small and dedicated team, I'm enormously proud of this year's record growth and look forward to going bigger and better in 2020 as we mark the 10th anniversary of Cooly Rocks On from 3-7 June 2020."
Cooly Rocks On is Australia's largest rock 'n' roll and nostalgia festival, celebrating the music, dancing cars and fashion of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. It is a free community event held on the beachside streetscape of iconic Coolangatta annually in June.
Highlights of the 2019 festival are available here: https://youtu.be/RZH_5cAzjDo
