Triathlon boosts Noosa tourism industry
Tue 03 November 2009
Katherine Fraser, Bachelor of Journalism
Attracting thousands of visitors each year, the world-famous Noosa Triathlon generates a major boost to Noosa’s tourism industry. 
The Noosa Triathlon has become the third-largest in the world, falling only behind London and Chicago.
It encourages an active and social lifestyle and consists of an entertaining five-day-long festival.
The international event involves a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km cycle and a 10 km run; all performed in the heart of Noosa, showcasing what the area has to offer to tourists.
The festival is open to everyone, with separate events for the younger participants and for competitors with disabilities.
In previous years the Triathlon brought considerable business to the tourism industry, as many visitors chose to either compete in the events, support family and friends, or simply join in the atmosphere.
In addition to the Triathlon, the five-day festival included several alternative events.
The multi-sport festival also holds the Endura Noosa “run, swim, run”; a celebrity golf tournament; the Tour de Noosa cycle and breakfast, fun runs, the Eyeline 1000 Noosa ocean swim; the Clovely Estate waiters’ challenge; a children’s triathlon, the Tinigirana Noosa Special Triathlon; and parties to finish the celebrations.
USM Events media manager Lisa Pringle said she was anticipating a similar crowd in 2009 as was present in 2008.
The 2008 Triathlon attracted crowds of around 30, 000 people to watch the 8500 competitors. It successfully created a welcoming wave of tourism to Noosa.
Comparison reports between the 2007 and 2008 Triathlons showed that figures of visitors from other Australian regions had been maintained and that tourist numbers from several overseas regions, such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and European countries had in fact risen.
Ms Pringle said that the reason so many tourists chose to spend their holiday participating in the festival was that, “Triathlon is a lifestyle and while a lot of people are competitive, or rather, like to do the best they can, it is a very social lifestyle”.
“[Triathlon is] a great way to combine an annual holiday with family and friends, while still being active and healthy,” she said.
USM Events managing director Garth Prowd said the event was continually evolving each year, due to the success of the festival in previous years.
“Noosa is the biggest Triathlon event in Australia and the extensive festival and entertainment program offers so much more than just the one off event experience,” he said.
The surge of tourists to Noosa has had a very positive outcome on local businesses in the past and was expected to achieve the same results in 2009.
This flow of business was vital to Noosa as the population heavily relied on the industry.
Figures from census data showed that the accommodation, cafes, restaurants and retail sectors made up a significant percentage of Noosa’s economy and that 50 per cent of the population was employed by these sectors.
Therefore the tourism brought in by the Triathlon was especially welcomed by the region, as many citizens derived their income from the industry.
One business in particular which enjoyed the rush of tourists was the well known Café le Monde, located in the centre of the busy atmosphere, Hastings Street.
Le Monde manager Katie Humbert said that in previous years, the well-known restaurant had experienced huge rushes during the Triathlon period, and it was expecting a similar outcome this year. 
While Ms Humbert said the restaurant did not rely on the surge of business brought by events such as the Triathlon, it certainly prepared for it and, “look[ed] forward to it”.
Ms Humbert said she considered the Triathlon to be one of the biggest events to come to Noosa, along with the Noosa Jazz Festival.
As manager of the popular eating spot, she had also noticed a considerable number of tourists dining during the event, in comparison to regular locals, supporting the figures evident in the 2008 Triathlon.
During the festival, Café le Monde generally catered for the competitors early in the morning, with the supporters coming later in the day.
Although Café le Monde was one of the busier companies of Noosa’s tourism industry due to its international fame, other restaurants, resorts, bars and retailers also experienced the boost of customers during the festival.
The Noosa Triathlon is therefore an important calendar event for the community, due to its contribution to the tourism industry.
Image(s) designed by Katherine Fraser
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Submitted Comments
Nice article Katie!
Morgan Williams
Good flow and important topic for the Sunshine Coast, well done Katie.
Ashleigh Spann