Celebrity selfies emerge as new trend boosting Gold Coast tourism figures
Enjoying a dip in the Broadwater at Southport, Queensland, hitting the waves at Burleigh Beach or shaking hands with a kangaroo at Paradise Country have been among the subjects of Facebook postings by celebrities visiting the Gold Coast in recent months.
The emerging trend has delighted tourism officials, who believe social media, with the help of some of the world’s most famous subscribers, is becoming a driving force behind boosting visitor numbers to the Coast.
Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said, along with traditional promotional campaigns involving brochure printing, postcards and media, visiting celebrities help spike tourism numbers through the added exposure across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
One of the latest December visitors was pop star Taylor Swift, who visited Paradise Country at Coomera and took a selfie with a kangaroo on a day off before her Brisbane concert, which attracted three million ‘likes’.
Interest in the Gold Coast was also widely sparked when mega star Johnny Depp spent some time on the Coast this year whilst filming Pirates of the Caribbean’s latest sequel ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’.
Committed tweeter and star of Wolverine Hugh Jackman recently posted a selfie on Burleigh Beach while staying on the Gold Coast with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, who was celebrating her 60th birthday.
Other international celebrities to have stepped out on the Gold Coast in 2015 included Chris Hemsworth, Penelope Cruz, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Orlando Bloom.
The emerging trend has delighted tourism officials, who believe social media, with the help of some of the world’s most famous subscribers, is becoming a driving force behind boosting visitor numbers to the Coast.
Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said, along with traditional promotional campaigns involving brochure printing, postcards and media, visiting celebrities help spike tourism numbers through the added exposure across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
One of the latest December visitors was pop star Taylor Swift, who visited Paradise Country at Coomera and took a selfie with a kangaroo on a day off before her Brisbane concert, which attracted three million ‘likes’.
Interest in the Gold Coast was also widely sparked when mega star Johnny Depp spent some time on the Coast this year whilst filming Pirates of the Caribbean’s latest sequel ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’.
Committed tweeter and star of Wolverine Hugh Jackman recently posted a selfie on Burleigh Beach while staying on the Gold Coast with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, who was celebrating her 60th birthday.
Other international celebrities to have stepped out on the Gold Coast in 2015 included Chris Hemsworth, Penelope Cruz, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Orlando Bloom.