Southern Gold Coast says farewell to tourism and events body

For the past 12 years, Connecting Southern Gold Coast has been proud to promote business, lifestyle, tourism, and events within our City's southern villages from Currumbin to Coolangatta. 

CSGC has left a long legacy and broadened the economic impact for the region, delivering events including Cooly Rocks On, Coolangatta Christmas Carols and Tugun Lights Up, founding Bleach* Festival, Opera on the Beach and the Kirra Kite Festival, as well as supporting Swell Sculpture Festival, International Beach Rugby, major Surfing events, and many other community initiatives.

They have been a strong advocate for the south, driving economic growth through destination marketing and business development programs for the region. They are particularly proud of the connectivity and collaboration we have delivered and the partnerships we’ve built with major operators, tourism marketing bodies, and industry affiliates to achieve strong year-round visitation, and created a network of advocates for the Southern Gold Coast in both domestic and international markets.

With the formation of Major Events Gold Coast from 1 July, they hand over our region's signature event, Cooly Rocks On, in it's best shape ever - having won Bronze for Best Major Festival in the prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards last year and delivering over 120,000 attendees, over $8 million Economic Impact and more than 35,000 visitor nights for the Southern Gold Coast, with more than half of all attendees travelling from outside the Gold Coast to enjoy their time in the sun, right here in the best destination in the world.  

It is necessary to to acknowledge the efforts of the volunteer Board led by Chair Greg Jenke, including all members of the Board that have served over the past 12 years and their enormous efforts in driving opportunities for sustainable economic development in the southern region, plus the small but dedicated team of talented event and marketing professionals, and partners and stakeholders for their support, particularly the City of Gold Coast and Division 14 Councillor Gail O’Neill. Lastly the outgoing CEO of SGC, Josh Martin who has steered the ship in a positive direction over the past 18 months. 

Importantly, thanks also go to the Southern Gold Coast community for their unwavering support, as well as the many community-led events and initiatives that make the Southern Gold Coast the best place to live, work and play all year round.