Griffith UniversityProfessors Lyn Griffiths,Peter MilburnandMichael Blumensteinare among the ten new faces to promote the Gold Coast as a leading business events destination.
Part of the Gold Coast Business Events Ambassador Program, the ten ambassadors were named at the official launch of the program this week by Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC, Governor of Queensland.
The Gold Coast Business Events Ambassador Program is an initiative of Gold Coast Tourism and aims to unite a group of influential leaders from key local industries who are passionate about promoting the Gold Coast to the rest of the world and committed to bringing congresses, conferences and corporate meetings to the City.
A world recognised expert in the field of human gene mapping and molecular genetics, Professor Griffiths heads the Genomics Research Centre at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, as well as being the director of the Griffith Health Institute.
Meanwhile, Professor Peter Milburn heads up Griffith’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences and has also been instrumental in bringing the prestigious World Scientific Congress of Golf to Australia for the first time. The event will be hosted in Australia in 2014. Professor Milburn said his appointment as an ambassador reflected his “passion for the Gold Coast and how the university is now placed to provide even further benefits to the region”.
Professor Michael Blumenstein from Griffith’s School of Information and Communication Technology is a nationally and internationally recognised expert in the areas of automated pattern recognition and Artificial Intelligence.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to put the Gold Coast on the map from a professional perspective and to also provide further prominence for Griffith in terms of the top researchers that the university brings here,” said Professor Blumenstein.
“I am looking forward to bidding for more conferences and events to be brought to the region.”
Business tourism key to the Coast industry
Business tourism is a key part of the Gold Coast tourism industry, contributing significantly to its success in terms of yield and influence. Last year business events contributed over $270 million to the Gold Coast economy.
Gold Coast Tourism Director of Business Events, Anna Case says that the program’s inaugural Ambassadors were identified as a result of their dedicated work with the Gold Coast Convention Bureau in bidding for international events.