New appointments at Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd

Grant Hunt has been appointed as the new chair for Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd (SCDL), replacing Barrie Adams.

Hunt, best known for developing the Voyages Hotels and Resorts brand, is also currently chairman of Tourism Tasmania and the Commonwealth Iconic Sites Task Force and is a current member of the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management.

The announcement was made during the SCDL annual general meeting, along with new figures for 2012-2013 that saw an 8.7% increase in overall visitor numbers to the region.

The record 8.9 million visitors to the region generated $2.8 billion in revenue for Queensland. However, despite the strong figures buoyed by a rise in leisure visitors, the business travel and conference sectors were dampened by the end of the mining boom in Queensland and national economic uncertainty.

Having reviewed the results, the Board issued a statement that read "the Sunshine Coast adapted very well to the difficult market conditions, withstanding the significant effects that resulted from the decline in mining investment and its subsequent economic impact on Queensland as a whole, and Brisbane specifically".

SCDL has also appointed Laughlin Rigby as its new Head of Marketing,

Rigby has a strong background in tourism and destination marketing, most recently with the Irish Tourist Board, where he played a major role in developing Ireland's largest ever tourism initiative, The Gathering 2013.

The tourism campaign marketed Ireland to the 70 million people worldwide with Irish ancestry through a series of festivals and events in Ireland during 2013. The Gathering helped boost inbound tourism to Ireland by 5.4% in the first half of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. The campaign was promoted globally through digital and social media, and Laughlin brings to the Sunshine Coast significant expertise in these fields.

Prior to his job with the Gathering he founded Travelshake.com, the world's first social media portal for the travel industry, in addition to running his own tourism marketing consultancy. He has also held key marketing positions in major organisations such as Tourism Ireland and Unilever, delivering award-winning global brand campaigns and digital marketing platforms.

Welcoming Rigby's appointment, SCDL Chief Executive Simon Ambrose stated "Sunshine Coast Destination has embarked on an ambitious digital marketing strategy and Laughlin brings considerable expertise in both digital and destination marketing. The fact that he already has an established family connection with the Sunshine Coast makes him an even more suitable appointment.

"Laughlin will be concentrating on building greater market share from the southern states and also internationally, and with our combination of high quality beach and Hinterland attractions, we are well placed to build the Sunshine Coast's position in the tourism and business events markets."

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