Press Release - Gold Coast Airport Marathon - 12/16/13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     Survey Confirms Gold Coast Airport Marathon Vital To Sports Tourism  

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is going from strength to strength as a 
major tourism drawcard with the popular Queensland event receiving an 
overwhelming tick of approval through an online poll of 3100 participants 
of this year's marathon.  

This month's awarding of the QSport 2013 Queensland Sport Event at the 
Queensland Sport Awards, cementing the marathon's international 
credentials, its value as a sports tourism driver was further highlighted 
with today's release of positive participant survey figures.

The results show close to three-quarters of visiting participants are 
likely to visit the Gold Coast for a holiday in the next three years based 
on their positive experience in the event.

And two-thirds of the 27,675 runners and walkers made the decision to 
participate before entries opened.

"Our 2013 participants made some very loud noises about what the Gold Coast 
Airport Marathon means to them and its contribution to the Gold Coast and 
Queensland's tourism industry," said Events Management Queensland General 
Manager Cameron Hart.

"For instance, 77 per cent believe the event makes a positive contribution 
to the Gold Coast's image, 52 per cent walked or swam at the beach over the 
weekend and 51 per cent rated the Gold Coast crowd support excellent.

"And the event boosted the Gold Coast accommodation and hospitality sectors 
with only 15 per cent of the respondents indicating they stayed at the 
house of a friend or family member," he said.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Jann Stuckey welcomed the survey 
results saying they provided an excellent insight into the marathon 
experience for visitors. 

"These results reinforce the Gold Coast Airport Marathon's incredible 
success in providing participants with a spectacular winter sporting 
experience in Queensland's 'Famous for Fun' destination," said Minister 
Stuckey. 

"The event attracts significant visitation to our region with strong 
participation from Japan. We are expecting a big showing from Japan next 
year thanks to the outstanding performances at this year's event by Yuki 
Kawauchi and Yukiko Akaba.

"74 per cent of interstate and overseas participants said they were likely 
to book a Gold Coast holiday in the next three years, testament to the 
lasting influence of the marathon in showcasing the region as a premier 
events and holiday destination.

"The Queensland Government is proud to support signature events like the 
Gold Coast Airport Marathon as part of our commitment to double overnight 
visitor expenditure from $15 billion to $30 billion by 2020."

Other interesting results from the survey include:

78.8% ranked 'completing a personal challenge' as the most important reason 
for entering the Gold Coast Airport Marathon; 

- 43.5% ran by themselves; 
- 33.3% knew about the event through a friend or family member; 
- 32.7% had three or more family members or friends watch them run; 
- 64.1% achieved a personal best time in the race they participated in. 

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is a three-time Queensland Tourism Award 
winner, a member of the Queensland Tourism Awards Hall of Fame and, earlier 
this year, took out the Spirit of the Gold Coast gong at the Gold Coast 
Media Awards.

It has also been granted a prestigious IAAF Bronze Label – the first 
Australian marathon to achieve such a distinction.

"We're already well down the track with the planning of our 5-6 July 2014 
event and we look forward to building once again on the Gold Coast Airport 
Marathon's great national and international reputation," Mr Hart said.

"Our new website www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au will also be launched later 
this month," he said.

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