2018 DestinationQ Events Conference

The future direction of Queensland’s event industry was the focus of DestinationQ Events Conference which was held in Gladstone on the 8^th August 2018.

The conference provided attendees a chance to network, enhance their professional development and build their capacity to deliver exceptional events. This year’s conference centered around the theme of remaining relevant in the ever-changing event landscape.

It was a unique opportunity for the tourism and events industries to discuss and share their insights about delivering successful and sustainable events. The day included Q&A sessions, panel discussions and networking breaks, allowing guests to engage with speakers.

The updated Queensland Events Guide was also announced during the conference, with a new chapter on Sustainability, which can be found on the Tourism and Events Queensland website.

Forum Presentations

• James Paterson, MI Associates, Setting the Scene – Current State of Play (PDF, 3.2MB)
• Nicole Ferrier and Scott Eather, Bigfish, The Importance of Technology (PDF, 30.5MB)
• James Dein, Sound Australia, Sponsorship from and End User Perspective (PDF, 517.8KB)
• Assoc. Prof Judith Mair, University of Queensland, Social Sustainability of Events (PDF, 1.8MB)
• Aimee Bartlett, Rockhampton Regional Council, Rockhampton River Festival (PDF, 3.1MB)
• Dr Gaston Boulanger, Under the Trees Music and Arts Festival (PDF, 5.5MB)
• Phil Henry, CQ University Village Festival (PDF, 3.5MB)
• Teona Cousin, Mackay Regional Council, How to Actively Engage your Community (PDF, 4.8MB)
• Brian Nourse, The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation, GC2018 – Legacy and Event Sustainability (PDF, 3.5MB)
• Vern Kimball, Calgary Stampede, Calgary Stampede – Icon, Myth, Relevance, Renewal (PDF, 15.0MB)

Second Annual QTIC NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council in partnership with The Star Entertainment Group held the 2^nd Annual QTIC NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast on 11 July 2018. The breakfast provided an opportunity for the Queensland tourism industry to acknowledge and celebrate the important role tourism plays in connecting visitors to Australian culture and history and how tourism can empower Indigenous Australians through employment and community support.

The 2018 QTIC NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast celebrated the invaluable contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have made – and continue to make – to the tourism industry and ultimately the positive impact Aboriginal women have on community, local, state and national levels. For more information, please visit the QTIC or NAIDOC websites.

2017 DestinationQ Forum

The 2017 DestinationQ Forum was held in Brisbane on 9 November 2017 and attracted over 400 registrations. The theme of the 2017 forum was competitiveness from collaboration in the tourism sector and delegates heard from international and local speakers, and participated in in a collaborative session on optimising Queensland’s competitiveness and connecting with Queensland’s story.

On 10 November 2017 delegates had the option to participate in site visits to either the Gold Coast or the Brisbane Airport, or attend a virtual reality information session.

Delegates heard from international speakers including:

• William Bakker, Destination Think!
• Chris Riddell, Global Futurist
• Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation
• Anthony Climpson, Go New Forest.

The program also featured industry presentations from:

• Jeff Flood, Summer Land Camel Farm
• Suzie Clark, Bundy Food Tours
• Greg Donovan, Big Run Events.

The second half of the day included a facilitated collaborative session to assist participants understand how they can collaborate to optimise Queensland’s competitiveness and connect with Queensland’s story.

Forum Presentations

• William Bakker, DestinationThink! ‘Redefining Destination Marketing’ (PDF, 5.6MB)
• Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp ‘Nashville Music City’ (PDF, 4.3MB)
• Suzie Clarke, Bundy Food Tours ‘Competitiveness comes from Collaboration’ (PDF, 4.0MB)
• Greg Donovan, Big Red Bash ‘Collaboration – an outback event perspective’ (PDF, 3.8MB)
• Jeff Flood, Summer Land Camels ‘Collaboration for success’ (PDF, 1.8MB)
• Anthony Climpson, Go New Forest CIC ‘Common sense into common practice’ (PDF, 2.1MB) and handout (PDF, 171.5KB)

2017 QTIC Tourism Indigenous Employment Forum

On Wednesday 8 November, business leaders, employers, government representatives, tourism organisations, native title holders and community organisations gathered in Brisbane to discuss issues, opportunities and strategies for supporting Indigenous tourism growth and Indigenous employment across the state at the 7th QTIC Tourism Indigenous Employment Forum.

As part of the Forum, the QTIC Indigenous Champions Network, supported by The Star Entertainment Group, invited delegates to endorse the Larrakia Declaration (PDF, 1.2MB) from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

2017 DestinationQ Engaging Local Government in Tourism

Delegates attending the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Annual Conference heard insights and best practice on how local governments can support the development of tourism in their region at the DestinationQ session on Monday 16 October 2017 in Gladstone.

Speakers included Mayor Mark Jamieson from Sunshine Coast Council, Professor Sara Dolnicar from UQ Business School, Mr Ben O’Hara, Development Director for Spicers Scenic Rim Trail and Mr Steven Silvester, General Manager, Investment Attraction, Brisbane Marketing.

For more information and proceedings from the LGAQ conference, please visit LGAQ conference

Workshop presentations

• Mayor Mark Jamieson, Sunshine Coast Council 'Government, Industry and Community Collaboration' (PDF, 1.7MB)
• Professor Sara Dolnicar, UQ Business School ‘The ripple effect of peer-to-peer accommodation networks’ (PDF, 2.0MB)
• Mr Ben O’Hara, Development Director for Spicers Scenic Rim Trail ‘Delivering on the promise: working with government to deliver a new ecotourism experience’ (PDF, 4.7MB)
• Mr Steven Silvester, General Manager, Investment Attraction Brisbane Marketing ‘Local government incentives for tourism investment and development’ (PDF, 1.5MB)

2017 DestinationQ Tourism New Ideas Forum - Bundaberg

Tourism businesses from across the Wide Bay gathered at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery on Tuesday 12 September 2017 to learn, share and network as part of the Queensland Government’s Office of Small Business and DestinationQ Tourism New Ideas Forum.

Delegates heard from industry experts about how to boost confidence and capability for success when building a business from an innovative idea. Speakers included Shane Emms, Zen Beach Retreat, Cameron Johns, Impact Innovation Group, Katherine Reid, Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism and Brad Illich, Newbook.

A suite of online and digital resources was launched and is available to tourism businesses looking to grow their business.

2017 DestinationQ Events Conference

Held on Wednesday 30 August 2017 at the Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, the Events Conference centred around the theme of harnessing the value of events in regional communities and focus on the drivers of value in events - economic, marketing, community and support by advocacy.

The Queensland Events Guide, a comprehensive resource to assist local organisers of events, was released and is available on the Tourism and Events Queensland website.

Forum presentations

• Glenn Hardy, IER ‘Creating and measuring economic value around events’ (PDF, 10.5MB)
• Jeff Gillies, IRONMAN Oceania ‘Winning through packaging experiences’ (PDF, 3.0MB)
• Kate Scott, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers/Cr Geoff McDonald, Toowoomba Regional Council ‘Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers’ (PDF, 2.5MB)
• Louisa Panuel, Office of the Commonwealth Games ‘Embracing 2018 Legacy program’ (PDF, 6.3MB)
  • View the Reconciliation Action Plan
  • View the presentation video
• Ben Pole, Ipswich City Council ‘CMC Rocks in Ipswich’ (PDF, 2.8MB)

2016 DestinationQ Forum

Held in Mackay on 25 October 2016, the 2016 DestinationQ Forum attracted over 300 representatives from the Queensland tourism industry, and state and local governments to engage in a program of presentations by keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, a Ministerial Panel and industry networking reception.

Forum materials

The forum program (PDF, 676.7KB) outlines proceedings for the forum.

As part of the forum, the Advancing Tourism 2016-20 strategy and the Advancing Tourism in North Queensland supplement were launched. Both these documents outline the Queensland Government’s plan to grow tourism and jobs.

2016 State of the Industry report, also released at the forum, outlines the key achievements of the industry over the past year.

2015 DestinationQ Forum

The 2015 DestinationQ Forum was held in Townsville on 8 and 9 October 2015.

Government and industry came together to debate the challenge of converting aspiration to visitation. The forum drew on new consumer insights and experienced speakers to challenge delegates to deliver on our promise to visitors.

Forum materials

The forum communique (PDF, 2.4MB) provides a summary of the discussions and outcomes of the 2015 DestinationQ Forum.

Keynote presentations and masterclass workbooks from the forum can be found in Resources. Each of the masterclasses explored the themes of innovation, quality and connectivity relevant to the consumer experience within a specific topic.

2014 DestinationQ Forum

The 2014 DestinationQ Forum was held on 16-17 September 2014 on the Sunshine Coast.

Forum materials

The forum report (PDF, 7.0MB) details the outcomes and key messages from the two-day event.

The 2014 DestinationQ Forum communique (PDF, 299.3KB) includes the top two industry commitments for each of the three forum themes, as voted by the delegates, as well as the individual commitments made by delegates.

In 2014, the forum program was supplemented with optional master classes which took a deeper look at key issues facing the industry. Information about the master classes is available in Resources.

2013 DestinationQ Forum

The 2013 DestinationQ Forum was held 27-28 August, 2013 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach with 380 delegates.

Forum materials

The 2013 Forum reported on the progress of the 2012 Partnership Agreement and 12 Month Key Action Plan and then focused on the development of a 20 year plan for the tourism industry (PDF, 13.9MB).

2012 DestinationQ Forum

The inaugural DestinationQ forum was held in Cairns at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino on 25-26 June 2012.

At the forum, 390 attendees participated in a series of workshops on the issues, opportunities and actions needed to develop short, medium and long-term plans to grow Queensland's tourism industry and achieve the 2020 goal of doubling visitor expenditure.

The major outcome of the 2012 forum was a Partnership Agreement and 12 Month Key Action Plan (PDF, 216.3KB) signed by the Queensland Government and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.