2016-08-09 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                               9 AUGUST 2016


The information below is intended to be a snapshot summary of the 35 page detailed CCIQ
Noosa report. Councillors are encouraged to review the report in its entirety to get not only the
details of the proposal, but also the “flavour” of the CCIQ Noosa Proposal.

Key elements of the CCIQ Noosa pre-feasibility are as follows:

Convention Centre Component
   A convention and exhibition centre would expand the high yield MICE market (Meetings,
     Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions). This would complement and enhance the
     existing Noosa visitor market and strengthen the Noosa Brand.
   The MICE market is a high yield market and would be most effective during business
     periods (mid-week) when there is spare capacity in accommodation providers. It could also
     convert some existing tourism yield into the higher yield MICE market.
   A convention centre may diversify Noosa’s economic base and create jobs. It could ensure
     that the Tourism market is focused on the highest yielding type of visitor market.
   The convention centre construction costs were identified by CCIQ Noosa as between $15M
     to $20M for an entry level facility and the upgrading or conversion of the existing The J
     facility to a performing arts space was estimated at between $7M to $10M. 1 These cost
     estimates are pre-feasibility estimates, not detailed Quantity Surveyor costs estimates but
     are based on information provided to the working team.
   Re-positioning Noosa as a place for business, not just a place for tourism. This is
     consistent with the intent of the Noosa Local Economic Plan which focuses on
     diversification of the local economy.
   Noosa has a destination MICE advantage compared to some other regional convention
     centres which struggle to attract events due to their non-premium location.
   The pre-feasibility study identified an annual economic benefit to the economy of $25.81M
     based on a number of assumptions - 2 x conferences per week for 30 weeks per year with
     450 delegates with an average stay of 2.8 days and an average spend of $956.2

Cultural Centre Component
   The CCIQ Noosa proposal emphasises the need to have an integrated development, not
     just a stand-alone convention centre. The boost to the cultural sector is proposed to be
     complementary to the business model of the convention centre so that synergies are
     achieved similar to leadership centres in Aspen, Colorado and Banff, Canada.
   A high level performing arts centre would allow Noosa to connect to the national touring
     circuit that would boost the cultural experience in Noosa.
   The facility could be the “home base” for all of Noosa’s leading cultural organisations who
     could have “resident company” status.3
   Performing Arts Centres all trade at a loss unless they are able to attract national touring
     events that can provide a commercial return or they are able to leverage off nearby MICE
     events.4
   Arts and Culture can have strong links to tourism with annual events and programs such as
     Carmel, California.5




1
  Page 16 of CCIQ Noosa Report – Funding and Investment model
2
  Page 6 of CCIQ Noosa Report – paragraph 1.5
3
  Page 4 of CCIQ Noosa Report – Initiative Outline
4
  Page 7 of CCIQ Noosa Report – paragraph 1.11
5
  Page 8 of CCIQ Noosa Report – Comparative Model Scan

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