David Fleischman

This paper presents findings from the Building Sustainable Night-time Economies in Regional Australia research project. The research focused on the Sunshine Coast region’s night-time economy (SCNTE) and comprised a series of in-depth interviews with local industry practitioners, followed by surveys of Sunshine Coast residents (n=577) and visitors to the region (n=298). The research findings indicate the SCNTE is changing in ways that require careful consideration and additional research. While some components are declining, others are stable and in recent years, while some venues and events have closed others have proved resilient. To help understand these transformations, a range of local infrastructural, cultural and psycho-social elements were isolated for in-depth investigation. Various barriers and enablers, such as steep cost of living increases post-Covid, and provision or lack of provision of transport were investigated to get a sense of ‘what‘s going on’ with the SCNTE.

This research report has been prepared by a research team from the School of Business and Creative Industries (SBCI) of the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). The report presents findings derived from an initial qualitative phase of a research project investigating the Sunshine Coast night-time economy (SCNTE).

Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate that core night-time economy businesses – those directly working in hospitality and entertainment venues -make up 8.63% of the Sunshine Coast labour force, while various non-core support workers (e.g. transportation) night-time economy businesses make up a further 21,75% of the labour force in the region.

This first phase of the research project comprised a series of face-to-face interviews (n = 10) with industry practitioners involved in the live entertainment industry of the Sunshine Coast region. Analysis of the interview scripts showed nine emerging themes around the “state of play” for the SCNTE. For perceptions of the SCNTE the themes are:

1.       The covid factor – how the lockdowns affected consumer behaviour and post-pandemic business

2.       A lack of vibe – perceptions there are limited entertainment opportunities on the Sunshine Coast and venues close too early

3.       Sunshine Coast culture – perceptions of an early to bed, early to rise culture amongst locals

4.       Zoomer culture – how Generation Z values and behaviours appear to differ from previous generations

Five additional themes, which revolve around various barriers or constraints emerged. These included:

5.       The cost of living – rising inflation impacts the overall cost of doing business as well as consumer spending habits

6.       Transport – lack of reliable and efficient public transport appears to be a major constraint

7.       Safety – although not highlighted as a prominent issue, remains a consideration given the lack of public transport

8.       Community permissions – noise complaints and the complexities for operators of permits and compliance

9.       Venues – a disconnected array of venues with significant capacity gaps and no clear pathway for fostering emerging artists

Initial conclusions and corresponding recommendations to be drawn from the industry interview findings include:

Village hub development - adapt the example of Noosa Junction (provided as a case study) whereby local business collectives, commercial property owners and lessees are encouraged and supported to create smaller precincts across the string of ‘villages’ that make up the Sunshine Coast.

Boutique festivals and events – the Sunshine Coast’s plethora of community parks and rural spaces could better serve what appears to be some demand for smaller boutique style ‘camp and play’ music festivals.

Industrial Spaces – A novel opportunity exists to reconceptualize various industrial spaces as entertainment spaces.

A centralised 2,000 capacity performance venue –the establishment of a dedicated mid-sized pub rock style performance space as part of the Maroochydore CBD cultural precinct development would fill a gap in the market that sees the Sunshine Coast missing out as a destination for national touring bands.

Review entertainment policies and procedures – while the rights of communities should be protected, the current policies and procedures around entertainment permits are not conducive to the SCNTE.

The results from this phase of research offer insights as to how the Sunshine Coast region can expand and improve its night-time economy, while maintaining its unique regional character. Building on these findings, the second phase of research, which includes developing and administering a quantitative instrument to calibrate the qualitative findings on a larger scale, will now commence. Collectively, both phases of research will provide an evidenced based foundation to help guide SCNTE decisions and strategies moving forward. These findings might also prove useful to other regions in Australia.

This study investigates the competitiveness drivers in the Sunshine Coast region, as perceived by employers and potential employees. Staffing shortages, surpassing pandemic challenges, and hindrances like housing costs and limited nightlife impact the business and employee landscape. Conducted with the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce, the University of the Sunshine Coast analysed data from 633 respondents (179 employers, 454 employees) through methods like correlation, ANOVA, and thematic analysis.

Insights emerge across three dimensions:

LIVE: Sunshine Coast's appeal faces affordability hurdles.

Takeaway: Addressing housing supply, affordability, and urban planning is vital to sustain attractiveness and draw residents.

WORK: Fostering an adaptive workforce.

Takeaway: Tackling housing and transit challenges and upskilling with digital literacy and emotional intelligence are crucial for sustainable business growth.

PLAY: Cultivating inclusive "Third Places."

Takeaway: Introducing diverse social hubs, cultural venues, and recreational spaces enhances social cohesion and regional allure.

This research unveils Sunshine Coast's multifaceted competitiveness dynamics. Understanding housing, workforce, and social interplay can guide stakeholders in nurturing a thriving region with livability and economic vibrancy.

This report details a research project that was instigated to provide a clearer picture for the Tourism and Major Events Unit (TMEU) of Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) about the local events industry supply chain. Key aims of the project were to compare the local industry to that of other similar Australian regions and to identify issues or gaps within the supply chain. Data were collected from a range of secondary sources and a series of focus group and depth interviews with practitioners from within the local events industry. In broad terms, the events industry is comprised of several subcategories or types of event based on purpose, content and participants (e.g. sports, cultural, business and private events). Yet, all these categories are linked through basic operational needs provided by the supply chain and form a dynamic commercial ecosystem. Hence, there was a need to investigate the perspectives of operators from each subcategory to provide a collective context for findings.

Local events play an important role to stimulate host economies and provide a platform for social engagement amongst community members. While the various social and economic impacts of local events are well-established in academic literature, the research surrounding the mechanisms through which these events contribute to enhancing local wellbeing and destination image is still in infancy. The Hervey Bay Seafood Festival (HBSF) has a twenty-year history and could be described, according to Allen et al. (2011), as a local community event or festival. Like many such festivals it grew out of the need for a local industry to collaborate amongst its network of actors and holistically promote the industry for market growth. However, in the absence of a rigorous investigation of the socio-economic impacts of this festival, the contributions to the local economy and community wellbeing remains unknown. Therefore, the overall goal for this research was to identify the drivers of economic and social outcomes of this festival. 

Universities around the world have created programs which offer supporting services assisting elite student-athletes to manage study and sport commitments. Although these programs are well embraced among Australian universities, many of them are in their early phases of establishment and it is important to evaluate the experiences of the elite student-athletes engaged in such programs. To address this need, this study administered a questionnaire to student-athletes who participate in elite student-athletes programs offered at Australian universities. The purpose was to understand their perceptions regarding the range, importance and general satisfaction with the services and support offered. This report presents the results of the n=867 valid responses collected from a total of 27 universities across seven Australian states and territories.

Commissioned by the Head of the School of Business, Professor Michael Clements, the aim of this report is to highlight potential services and curriculum needs that could be adapted and developed in the School of Business (SOB) work area, and other work areas, in support of USC's HP Sport Project. To accomplish the aim, six interviews were conducted with high performance sports stakeholders at a high-ranked NCAA Division 1 U.S. University - The University of Georgia. The interviews sought information on two main objectives: 1) opportunities to support the student-athlete experience at the SOB, and other School and University levels; and 2) Explore potential opportunities for SOB curriculum development in alignment with HP Sport.