Sarah Pye

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.