Five major events in the space of a month are set to inject more than $36 million into the Brisbane economy and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said exclusive, top-line events like the World Science Festival Brisbane and NASA - A Human Adventure just enhance Brisbane's reputation as a world-class event destination.
"Brisbane is the only place outside of New York where you can experience the World Science Festival, and this month we will open an Australian-exclusive at the Queensland Museum – NASA - A Human Adventure," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"Curiocity," a brand-new event which also incorporates the World Science Festival Brisbane and new innovation conference QODE, also debuts this month after the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Marketing, developed the unique concept.
"In another first for this month, the Brisbane Cycling Festival will bring a series of amateur and elite professional events to Brisbane to make the most of the world-class Anna Meares Velodrome and the city's scenic bikeways.
"Add to that the sell-out success of CMC Rocks QLD, which will bring tens of thousands of visitors to Ipswich, and March really will be a huge month for the wider region.
"Combined, these events are expected to inject $36.5 million into the economy and set Brisbane up for a big year of 'first-time' attractions including the NRL Magic Round Brisbane in May and the Bolshoi Ballet for the 2019 QPAC's International Series from the 26 June – 7 July."
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the government's major events strategy was paying off for Queensland's economy.
"Tourism is Queensland's largest service export and continues to grow each year. Much of the growth in this sector can be attributed to our major events policy," she said.
"We invest in major events because they support tourism jobs. The numbers released today prove the importance of our tourism sector when it comes to growing our economy.
"Under the Palaszczuk Government, we've more than doubled the value of Queensland's major events calendar – now worth $800 million.
"At a time that's classically quite slow for our tourism industry, we've worked hard to secure a strong portfolio of events for Queensland in March.
"In the year to September 2018, Brisbane welcomed a record 8.5 million visitors who spent more than $7 billion – strong numbers which we are working to grow through exclusive events and unique tourism experiences."
New to the It's Live! in Queensland calendar in 2019, Curiocity and the Brisbane Cycling Festival are co-initiatives of the Queensland Government via Tourism and Events Queensland and the Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Marketing.
It's Live! in Queensland - Brisbane's bumper major events calendar:
CMC Rocks QLD 14 - 17 March
NASA - A Human Adventure 15 March – 7 October
Curiocity Brisbane 15 March – 3 April
World Science Festival Brisbane 20 – 24 March
Brisbane Cycling Festival 28 March – 14 April
Cycling Australia Track National Championships 28 March – 10 April
Six Day Brisbane Final 12 – 14 April
Tour de Brisbane 14 April
QODE innovation festival 2 – 3 April
NRL Brisbane Magic Round 9 – 12 May
QPAC International Series – Bolshoi Ballet 26 June – 7 July
2019 UCI Track World Cup 13 – 15 December
