What’s inside
- Easter bookings in focus
- Reminder – have your say to WIN!
- Campaigns worth being involved in
Performance Snapshot
We have received our March visitor arrival statistics, and they are not pretty, showing a 19.5% decline for March compared to the same time last year. However, this isn’t a surprising result given the impact of TC Alfred. Our interstate markets of NSW and VIC were particularly impacted and recorded a 26% and 21% decline respectively.
On a more positive note, the intense marketing promotions over the last month have helped to turnaround the outlook for April and we now anticipate April visitor numbers to be around the same as last year. Forward bookings reach their peak of 81% for Easter Saturday, and then taper off to 60% next week as QLD and VIC school holidays finish. Dirt cheap air travel for April should also translate to full planes over the month and swift recovery of our interstate markets as well.
Looking ahead to May and forward bookings have also improved over the last month and currently are sitting 2% lower than the same time last year. We are hopeful this will continue to pick up over the next few weeks as well. This is especially the case for the long weekend in May.
June occupancy is similar to May. And, in July, the Noosa Enduro and other events such as the Netball QLD Junior State competition and the Sunshine Coast Winter Bowls Carnival have already bolstered occupancy on the first weekend to 49% (up 16% YOY).
TC Alfred recovery activities
Thanks to our pals at TEQ we have now seen a record amount of airline promotions across each of the major carriers over the last month that have seen tickets as low as $45 from Sydney. These have been exactly what is needed to get people moving again and included:
- Jetstar | 21-24 March
- Virgin Australia | 27-29 March
- Jetstar l 9-13 April (VSC in partnership with Sunshine Coast Airport and Tourism Noosa)
- Qantas | 14-16 April
Our Sunshine Moments For Real marketing campaign is continuing in QLD, and on 28 April we relaunch the campaign in NSW and Victoria. All this will see VSC more than double its investment in marketing campaigns this calendar year to make up for the lost ground of TC Alfred. Supporting these campaigns are great tactical promotions including with Expedia.
The team has also doubled down on our PR activities, to share that the Sunshine Coast is as beautiful as ever. This has included:
- Sunrise weather cross – 6 April, live from Mooloolaba Beach
- 7 Weekender – 30 March, a dedicated half-hour episode on the Sunny Coast.
- 7 Weekender – 27 April, another dedicated half-hour episode
- Australian Traveller partnership – April, EDM to their 79,000 subscribers and ongoing display banners
- Eight media famils – March/April, and plenty more to come in the following months….!
>More information is below on how you can get involved with these opportunities.
Fill out our Membership Survey… and WIN 👀
If you haven’t already filled out our Membership Survey, this is your friendly reminder to get to it! With up to SIX prizes on offer, all you need to do is complete the short form and enter your details by the 18th April.
What can you win?
1 x 1 month Co-operative Marketing Package – Valued at $800
2 x 1 month featured deal spots – Valued at $300
3 x pair of tickets to a networking night of your choice – Valued at $50
The feedback we receive in this survey plays a crucial role in shaping our industry programs and events for the coming year – so make sure your voice is heard.
Member events you don’t want to miss!
📅 14 May – Real Talks: Discover how AI is changing the way people plan holidays and what it means for your business. REGISTER HERE
📅 10 June – Vertical Video Workshop: Back by popular demand! Polish your social media skills. REGISTER HERE
📅 24 June – Networking: Slip Stream Brewing, Birtinya. Invite out soon!
📅 24 June – Business Events – Meet Melissa Brown – CEO ABEA
📅 16 July – SHINE: Save the date for our newest SHINE event, more details to come!
Sunshine Moments campaign
Exclusive Member Opportunity: Leverage our hero campaign – Sunshine Moments
The next burst of our hero campaign – Sunshine Moments – will be live from 28 April – 6 July, and we want you to get involved!
Sunshine Moments will target travellers in NSW, VIC and QLD, with billboards in Sydney and Melbourne, BVOD and YouTube videos, social advertising across Facebook, Instagram & TikTok and high impact digital advertising on leading websites.
Following the impacts of ex-TC Alfred on our region’s tourism industry, this will be the biggest campaign we have run in the past 12 months, and the first time we have done billboards in Sydney.
This means more visibility, more traffic, and more holidaymakers dreaming about their next Sunshine Coast escape … and you can put your business front and centre.
How to get involved:
✅ Refresh your ATDW listing with current information, images and up to 3 enticing deals.
⭐ Book a Featured Deal to get prime placement on the Sunshine Moments campaign landing page and high-traffic areas of the VSC website.
📣 Book a Social Media Retargeting Ad to re-engage
visitsunshinecoast.com website visitors as they scroll through Facebook and Instagram, leading them direct to your website.
Find out more about Co-operative Marketing here or contact the team at [email protected] to get started.
Expedia Campaign
As part of our TC Alfred recovery efforts, Visit Sunshine Coast is partnering with Expedia Group to launch a high-impact Wotif campaign targeting eager travellers from New South Wales, Victoria and Southeast Queensland.
We’re putting significant investment behind this promotion – but we need your support to make it shine. The campaign launches 15 May, so now’s the time to upload your deals and get in front of holidaymakers dreaming of their next Sunshine Coast escape.
Let’s work together to drive bookings and bring visitors back to our beautiful region. To participate, you simply need to load an offer via the Expedia Partner Portal.
For more information, contact Emily [email protected]
