Major Events Gold Coast

What Major Events Gold Coast does

Major Events Gold Coast, doing business as Experience Gold Coast, is a non-profit destination marketing organization (DMO) established in 2020 and headquartered in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. The organization promotes the Gold Coast as a tourism, events, and education destination, serving leisure travelers, event attendees, international students, and accessibility-focused visitors. It operates two consumer-facing web properties — majoreventsgc.com and experiencegoldcoast.com — built on Sitecore CMS, presenting an events calendar, accommodation directory, things-to-do guide, and a series of vertical-specific sub-platforms including Study Gold Coast, the Gold Coast Student Hub, the Student Jobs Portal, the Accessibility Information Hub, and the LOVE GC Deals marketplace.

The product portfolio is organized around three verticals. The leisure and events vertical aggregates 88+ accommodation partners (Sheraton Grand Mirage, JW Marriott, The Langham, Trilogy Surfers Paradise, Quest Robina, Palette Restaurant) and cultural venues (HOTA), with ATDW integration redirecting booking intent to operator websites. The education vertical, Study Gold Coast, aggregates 200+ education institutions and adds a student-facing hub and jobs portal. The accessibility vertical extends the addressable audience through a dedicated information hub. Leadership is led by Director Jackie Cross, with the organization employing 11-50 staff.

The business model is non-transactional and funded primarily through government grants and industry partnership contributions, consistent with Australian regional DMO structures. Revenue is not generated from platform commissions or bookings — the platform redirects intent to partner sites rather than capturing transactions. Commercial partnerships, including the LOVE GC Deals marketplace, represent a secondary commercial layer, but the core operating model is marketing-and-promotion funded by the public sector and tourism industry stakeholders.

Name

Major Events Gold Coast

Legal name

Experience Gold Coast

Website

https://majoreventsgc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Major Events Gold Coast (DBA Experience Gold Coast) is a non-profit destination marketing organization promoting Gold Coast tourism, events, and international education through integrated consumer platforms serving leisure travelers, students, and accessibility-focused visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Management Services

NAICS

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713), Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (7139), All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (713990)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE)

Keywords

• Event management services
• Music festival organization
• Cultural event promotion
• Destination event marketing
• Festival organization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Surfers Paradise

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Tourism Marketing and Promotion Services: As a destination marketing organization (DMO), Experience Gold Coast operates as a non-profit entity funded by government and industry partnerships. The organization promotes Gold Coast tourism, events, and education to domestic and international visitors. Revenue is generated indirectly through tourism spending and potentially through partnership fees with tourism operators.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Major Events Gold Coast is a non-profit organization established in 2020 in Surfers Paradise, Australia, that supports and organizes music, cultural events, and festivals across the Gold Coast region. The organization works to attract and deliver international sporting events, business events, music, cultural, and lifestyle events, serving as a regional vehicle for major event delivery in partnership with tourism authorities, sponsors, and government stakeholders.

Product overview

Experience Gold Coast operates a unified destination marketing platform that aggregates tourism offerings across the Gold Coast region. The core product is a content and listings platform combining accommodation directories, event calendars, and activity guides. The portfolio includes the primary 'Get Up & Gold Coast' marketing campaign brand, regional destination guides (Places to Go), categorized experience guides (Things to Do), and an events discovery platform. Supporting sub-brands include Study Gold Coast for education tourism, the Gold Coast Student Hub and Student Jobs portal for student services, HOTA (Home of the Arts) as a partner cultural venue, LOVE GC Deals for promotional offers, and an Accessibility Information Hub for inclusive travel. The platform functions primarily as a content aggregator and referral service, redirecting users to external booking systems and partner sites rather than processing transactions directly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Music, Cultural and Lifestyle Event Organization Full-service organization of music, cultural, and lifestyle festivals and events for the Gold Coast region, delivered on behalf of tourism authorities, sponsors, and government partners.
• International Sporting Event Attraction and Delivery Identification, attraction, and operational delivery of major international sporting events to the Gold Coast in partnership with government, rights-holders, and corporate sponsors.
• Business Event Attraction and Delivery Attraction and delivery of major business events (conferences, incentive travel, exhibitions) for the Gold Coast, coordinating across venues, sponsors, and tourism stakeholders.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• ATDW (Australian Tourism Data Warehouse)coreTechnology or IntegrationATDW provides the booking redirect infrastructure allowing Experience Gold Coast to direct visitors to accommodation and experience providers for real-time availability and reservations.
• HOTA (Home of the Arts)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOTA is featured as a premier cultural destination on the Gold Coast, with Experience Gold Coast promoting exhibitions, cinema, workshops, and live performances. The organization drives visitation to HOTA through coordinated marketing campaigns.
• Study Gold CoastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudy Gold Coast is a dedicated platform for international and domestic student recruitment, operated in partnership with over 200 education and training institutions on the Gold Coast.
• Gold Coast Student HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent support hub providing social and study space for current Gold Coast students with monthly events, workstations, free Wi-Fi, and coffee. Experience Gold Coast promotes the hub to attract and retain students.
• Gold Coast Student JobsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJob portal connecting students with employment opportunities across various industries on the Gold Coast, supporting student retention and career development.
• Palette RestaurantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured fine dining partner holding two chefs' hats, promoted as a premium culinary experience on the Gold Coast.
• Marriott International (Sheraton Grand Mirage, JW Marriott)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLuxury accommodation partners featured on Experience Gold Coast platform with direct booking links. Both brands represent premium tier offerings for the destination.
• The Langham HotelsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFeatured luxury accommodation partner (The Langham Gold Coast and Jewel Residences) promoted as a premium destination offering.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Brand USA: National DMO of the United States, comparable in public-private partnership model, destination marketing mandate, and major events promotion role. Operates at a much larger scale but with similar function.
• Destination Canada: National Canadian DMO with the same destination marketing, event promotion, and education tourism mandate. Comparable funding structure, scale of operations, and event portfolio approach.
• Singapore Tourism Board: National tourism and events authority for Singapore, comparable in DMO function, government backing, and event-driven tourism strategy. Strong analog for how a destination DMO can drive events and education tourism.
• Visit Dubai: Government-backed destination marketing organization for Dubai, directly comparable in role, event-driven tourism model, and premium brand partnership strategy targeting international visitors.
• Tourism Australia: Australia's national destination marketing organization, operating as Experience Gold Coast's federal counterpart. Highly comparable in DMO model, government-backed structure, and tourism promotion mandate, but at the country level rather than a single region.
• Visit California: Major US state-level destination marketing organization, comparable in scale, DMO function, and tourism marketing mandate. Similar event-driven GTM and government partnership funding model.

Direct peers

• Destination NSW: State-level DMO for New South Wales, Australia, directly comparable in role, scale, and operating model as a government-backed tourism and events marketing body competing for the same visitor audience.
• Tourism and Events Queensland: State-level DMO for Queensland, the parent jurisdiction of the Gold Coast. Directly comparable DMO function and government funding model, with overlapping event portfolio and tourism mandate.
• Visit Victoria: State-level DMO for Victoria, Australia, with the same destination marketing mandate, government funding model, and event-driven tourism strategy. Most direct functional peer within Australia.
• Brisbane Marketing (Visit Brisbane): Regional DMO for Brisbane, the closest major metropolitan competitor for events, tourism spend, and student recruitment in Queensland. Directly comparable DMO and event promotion role.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/majoreventsgc
• Facebookfacebook.com/majoreventsgoldcoast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/major-events-gold-coast
• Instagraminstagram.com/experiencegoldcoast

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Major Events Gold Coast