The 2023 Gold Coast Marathon is off to a flying start with the announcement today that Asia’s leading medium range low cost carrier, AirAsia X has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement to become the Official Airline of Australia’s premier running event.

The AirAsia X agreement coincides with an exciting return of international entries and a surge in participants hailing from Malaysia and South-East Asia.

With just on five weeks to go until the event entries are on track to see more than 22,000 participants pound the Gold Coast pavements over race weekend with almost 10 per cent hailing from overseas.

Queensland Minister for Tourism Stirling Hinchliffe said the announcement was a win for the Gold Coast Marathon and for tourism in Queensland.

“The return of AirAsia X flights from Malaysia direct to the Gold Coast earlier this year was a huge confidence boost to the tourism industry and this sponsorship reinforces their commitment to Queensland as Australia’s favourite tourism and event destination,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“We supported AirAsia X through our $200m Attracting Aviation Investment Fund because we knew it would result in more international visitors coming to Queensland to attend events like the Gold Coast Marathon.

“For decades now the Gold Coast Marathon has been revered around the world, and it will continue to be a beacon for the region as we approach the green and gold runway towards the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“This year’s event is back bigger and better than ever, set to generate more than 91,000 visitor nights and more than $29 million for the Queensland economy.”

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said the sponsorship is a great fit for the airline which has supported the Gold Coast Marathon in the past pre-pandemic.

“Not only is it great to be back as the only airline flying direct between Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, but also to reinstate our partnership with this fantastic event.

We have seen strong demand into the Gold Coast historically from Asian travellers attending the Gold Coast Marathon and expect this to continue this year and into the future.

“We anticipate seats will sell fast and to further encourage strong participation, AirAsia X will be running a number of promotional activities to stimulate air travel to the region including discounted fares on sale over coming weeks.”

City of Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate congratulated AirAsia X on its partnership with the Gold Coast Marathon and commended Gold Coast Airport and Destination Gold Coast on its collaboration with the airline to support its return to the city.

“Major events in our city are a huge attraction for visitors from all over the world with the enthusiasm and commitment of AirAsia X an indication of great things to come for our inbound tourism industry,” said Mayor Tate.

Events Management Queensland CEO Ben Mannion said they were delighted to welcome AirAsia X on board adding that they would be joining a high-quality suite of sponsors and event partners.

“AirAsia X takes the Gold Coast Marathon to new heights connecting our event and the Gold Coast to travellers from around the world.

“We are looking forward to welcoming strong numbers of overseas participants to the Gold Coast Marathon this year and delivering a truly multi-cultural celebration of running.

“The Gold Coast Marathon will be a shot in the arm for tourism on the Gold Coast and in Queensland with many thousands of entrants, their friends and family expected to take advantage of the state’s many and varied world-class attractions pre and post event,” Mr Mannion said.

The 2023 Gold Coast Marathon weekend will also feature the CPL Wheelchair Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, Southern Cross University 10km Run, CPL Wheelchair 10km, Gold Coast Airport 5km Fun Run and the Health and Wellbeing Queensland 2km and 4km Junior Dashes.

The Gold Coast Double 63.3km event – contested by hardy runners competing in both Saturday’s half and Sunday’s full marathon – will also be contested.

The Gold Coast Marathon is organised by Events Management Queensland and is proudly supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.

Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to experience our events.

People wanting further information on the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon events can visit www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au

Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to experience our events.

People wanting further information on the 2023 old Coast Marathon events can visit www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au