Press Release - Gold Coast Marathon - 6/2/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   Gold Coast Marathon off to a flying start welcoming AirAsia X on board

The 2023 Gold Coast Marathon is off to a flying start with the announcement 
today that Asia's leading medium range low-cost carrier, AirAsia X has 
signed a three-year sponsorship agreement to become the Official Airline of 
Australia's premier running event.

The AirAsia X agreement coincides with an exciting return of international 
entries and a surge in participants hailing from Malaysia and South-East 
Asia.  

With just on five weeks to go until the event entries are on track to see 
more than 22,000 participants pound the Gold Coast pavements over race 
weekend with almost 10 per cent hailing from overseas.

Queensland Minister for Tourism Stirling Hinchliffe said the announcement 
was a win for the Gold Coast Marathon and for tourism in Queensland. 

"The return of AirAsia X flights from Malaysia direct to the Gold Coast 
earlier this year was a huge confidence boost to the tourism industry and 
this sponsorship reinforces their commitment to Queensland as Australia's 
favourite tourism and event destination," Mr Hinchliffe said. 

"We supported AirAsia X through our $200m Attracting Aviation Investment 
Fund because we knew it would result in more international visitors coming 
to Queensland to attend events like the Gold Coast Marathon. 

"For decades now the Gold Coast Marathon has been revered around the world, 
and it will continue to be a beacon for the region as we approach the green 
and gold runway towards the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"This year's event is back bigger and better than ever, set to generate 
more than 91,000 visitor nights and more than $29 million for the 
Queensland economy."

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said the sponsorship is a great fit for the 
airline which has supported the Gold Coast Marathon in the past 
pre-pandemic.

"Not only is it great to be back as the only airline flying direct between 
Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, but also to reinstate our partnership with 
this fantastic event.

"We have seen strong demand into the Gold Coast historically from Asian 
travellers attending the Gold Coast Marathon and expect this to continue 
this year and into the future.

"We anticipate seats will sell fast and to further encourage strong 
participation, AirAsia X will be running a number of promotional activities 
to stimulate air travel to the region including discounted fares on sale 
over coming weeks."

City of Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate congratulated AirAsia X on its 
partnership with the Gold Coast Marathon and commended Gold Coast Airport 
and Destination Gold Coast on its collaboration with the airline to support 
its return to the city.

"Major events in our city are a huge attraction for visitors from all over 
the world with the enthusiasm and commitment of AirAsia X an indication of 
great things to come for our inbound tourism industry," said Mayor Tate.

Events Management Queensland CEO Ben Mannion said they were delighted to 
welcome AirAsia X on board adding that they would be joining a high-quality 
suite of sponsors and event partners.

"AirAsia X takes the Gold Coast Marathon to new heights connecting our 
event and the Gold Coast to travellers from around the world.

"We are looking forward to welcoming strong numbers of overseas 
participants to the Gold Coast Marathon this year and delivering a truly 
multi-cultural celebration of running.

"The Gold Coast Marathon will be a shot in the arm for tourism on the Gold 
Coast and in Queensland with many thousands of entrants, their friends and 
family expected to take advantage of the state's many and varied 
world-class attractions pre and post event," Mr Mannion said.

The 2023 Gold Coast Marathon weekend will also feature the CPL Wheelchair 
Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, Southern Cross University 10km Run, CPL 
Wheelchair 10km, Gold Coast Airport 5km Fun Run and the Health and 
Wellbeing Queensland 2km and 4km Junior Dashes.

The Gold Coast Double 63.3km event – contested by hardy runners competing 
in both Saturday's half and Sunday's full marathon – will also be 
contested.

The Gold Coast Marathon is organised by Events Management Queensland and is 
proudly supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events 
Queensland, and features on the It's Live! in Queensland events calendar.

Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the 
Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of 
the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon 
which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to 
experience our events.

People wanting further information on the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon events 
can visit www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au.

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