Hundreds of tourism industry heavyweights from across the state will converge on the Gold Coast on Friday when two major tourism events combine - DestinationQ and the Queensland Tourism Awards.
The major events top off a big tourism industry week with events being held across the state for Queensland Tourism Week.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 700 delegates would attend the DestinationQ forum at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
"This year’s DestinationQ is tipped to be the biggest yet and is vital to help develop strategies to grow Queensland’s $25 billion tourism industry," the Premier said.
"Every year, more than 25 million people come to Queensland – supporting more than 215,000 jobs throughout the state.
"To grow our share of the tourism market we need to work with the private sector. That’s why my government is investing a record $180 million in extra funding for tourism.
The Premier will attend the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) Queensland Tourism Awards gala ceremony with Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones and Assistant Tourism Minister and Member for Gaven Meaghan Scanlon at The Star on Friday night.
"The 30 award categories, which range from The Steve Irwin Award for Ecotourism to Cultural Tourism and Excellence in Food Tourism, recognise the great work Queensland tourism operators have done over the last 12 months," Ms Jones said.
"This event has been a sellout – we have more than 900 guests set to attend. This is a testament to the fact that Queensland’s tourism sector is booming."
Other events include:
- Tourism and Events Queensland’s (TEQ) International Market Briefings – Brisbane (12 November); Cairns (13 November); Gold Coast (15 November)
- 8th Annual QTIC Indigenous Employment Forum – Gold Coast (15 November)
- Local Government and Tourism Masterclass (15 November)
- Tourism Masterclasses covering augmented and virtual reality for the tourism businesses, investment attraction, facilitating payments from Chinese visitors, and customer centricity (15 November).
