This is an update of an article originally written and published in the newsletter in 2019, when ICA20 was scheduled for the Gold Coast before being moved online due to the pandemic.

As many of you know, ICA has members in 87 countries (and growing!), so our conference locales rotate around the globe. Historically, we’ve been in North America every other year based on a Board of Directors decision ten-plus years ago, but we’ve started to expand that to include Central and South America, as well as other Global South locales, in our searches for future sites. In the intervening years, we alternate between Europe and Asia/Oceania. If you’re an ICA member in (most of) Asia you’re probably ecstatic about ICA coming to the Gold Coast in 2024 finally, because the conference is a shorter flight for you for the first time and you likely already know that the Gold Coast is a popular and beloved tourist destination with beautiful beaches, great food, and a laid-back “vibe.” For our European and North American ICA members, this year is a great opportunity to pay back the loyalty that Asia/Oceania members have been exhibiting through decades of flying to European and North American destinations to meet with everyone else. “Far” is subjective; we cannot simultaneously say we want to be more international while also personally skipping the years in which the conference isn’t in our own backyards.

If you’re one of our North American or European attendees, however, we recognize that you are debating whether the longer (for you) trip is worth the time and expense. [Side note: the exchange rate with the US dollar in particular right now is VERY favorable, so everything is pretty much half price!] I will readily admit that–having been to Australia’s major destinations numerous times over the course of my career thus far (including numerous trips to Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns/diving on the Great Barrier Reef)-- I was initially “underwhelmed” by the choice (made prior to my hiring in 2016) of the Gold Coast…..until I got there. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this town. I think you will be too. 

Here’s my list of the top eleven things that won me over; I will hazard a wager that you will regret it if you sit this one out!

1. A great variety of wonderful places to stay. We are contracting two main traditional hotel options (the Star, which is our headquarters hotel, and the Sofitel seven minutes’ walk away) as well as numerous options for condo/apartment properties, one across the street from the conference center and one that is a brand new tower at the Star. Each type of property (both apartments and traditional hotels) is no more than a ten-minute walk from where sessions are. You won’t need a rail pass or any other type of transportation to get to sessions from the blocked hotels, unless you have a mobility accommodation (if so, please contact us early at conference@icahdq.org so we can advise you properly on the best places to stay). For the apartment properties, there are one- and two-bedroom options and most have balconies, great views, an in-unit washer/dryer, and a kitchen. What they don’t have (which is why some of them are cheaper): maid service and room service. At each of these apartment properties, you will be able to get a two bedroom with two twin beds in each room, for instance, to sleep four people total, for a rate that ends up being approximately US$40 per night per person. It doesn’t get more affordable than that! So, what you’re spending extra on a flight, perhaps, you can save on your sleeping arrangements. We are also diligently working on a contract for a Student Accommodation Block, more on that when we know more.

2.     The weather. I can’t emphasize enough that “the beginning of winter” in the Gold Coast is absolutely SUBLIME. Our site visit had the same timing as #ICA24 and the weather only got slightly cool at night. During the day it was nothing short of perfect. PERFECT: blue skies, clear turquoise water, white sand. We landed early morning and spent the day walking around in the sunlight to shake off the jet lag and had no issues at all getting onto local time. The daily high in June averages around 22˚ Celsius and the low average around 13˚Celsius (71˚ to 55˚ Fahrenheit). At the end of June THIS year, our tourism bureau contact in Gold Coast wrote me, “...with El Niño now, the weather in June was incredible: dry [no rain], beautiful 21 degrees C during the day with cool (need a jumper) nights.” Open-toed shoes are the norm, but you’ll simply want to  take a cardigan or light jacket with you when you go out at night, in case you need it. The only time we needed to be more “bundled up” was out on the water during a morning whale watching expedition, and even then, they have blankets on board that you can use. Speaking of which….

3.     The wildlife. The #ICA24 conference takes place firmly during prime whale watching season (from June to October, more than 30,000 whales migrate through the Gold Coast’s turquoise waters), and there are numerous charter companies that take groups out for guaranteed sightings. In all my world travels, I’d somehow never seen a humpback whale up close and we had two of them breach right next to our boat. It was truly breathtaking to make eye contact with a giant, basketball-sized eyeball staring right at you from the surface of the sea. After twenty-plus years of international conferences it’s kind of hard to impress me, but that experience is at the top of my all-time highs list. Later in the week we went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and got to snuggle with koalas, feed kangaroos and wallabies, peek in on Tasmanian Devils and, at Dreamworld (mostly an amusement park with roller coasters and such), you can gawk at the largest crocodile (aptly named Goliath) that anyone has ever seen alive, about the size of a VW Bus not including the tail. (Important: we did not cuddle with the crocodile). It was like meeting an actual dinosaur (and if you want, you can be the one to lower his lunch–a giant hunk of beef–down to him on a rope from above). Rest assured, however, that no creepy crawlies made unwanted appearances, so if your social media habit has led you to have concerns about giant dog-eating spiders and snakes, no worries. Those things don’t show up in overpopulated areas or in hotels/condos near the beach. If you want to have an up-close-and-personal meeting with a giant spider you’ll have to go out into the Hinterland after the conference is over. Sorry to disappoint.

4.     Walkability. I am not exaggerating when I say that you can walk out of the front door of the convention center and, at a leisurely pace, have your toes IN THE OCEAN within 14 minutes. I timed it myself, and I wasn’t rushing. It’s that compact. Our conference and all of our blocked properties are in the Broadbeach area of Gold Coast, which is maybe 9 blocks long by four blocks wide (situated between the beach and the canals), and chock full of great restaurants and coffee shops. All walkable. Once you arrive, you won’t have to set foot in a vehicle again until the conference is over, unless you want to go up to the dance clubs and such in Surfer’s Paradise, which are just ten minutes on the light rail (very cheap and environmentally friendly public transportation) or go on an excursion like whale watching.

5.     The Coffee & Food. The coffee in the Gold Coast is phenomenal, and there are trendy little espresso bars everywhere along the beach. You are offered cappuccino everywhere you go, and it’s delightful. As a result you’ll have So! Much! Energy! (Don’t let our Past President and Gold Coast-local Terry Flew (U of Sydney) coffee-shame you into going to the lone Starbucks just because you’re from out of town. Resist!). For the foodies, Gold Coast is full of delicious restaurants of every type of cuisine, and very few chains. We had ridiculously good and affordable Thai, Japanese, and continental lunches, Italian and French dinners, amazing ramen, mind blowing gelato, and did I mention the coffee? There are lots of beachfront cafes where you can grab a coffee and an avocado toast in the morning or sit down for an açai bowl in the afternoon. All very affordable, with dining options at all points along the cost spectrum as well as several grocery stores within walking distance of the hotels to stock up on snacks for your room or “real” food for your apartment kitchen. All the food is very “instagrammable” – if you have time, check out the fancier beachside dining at the Burleigh Heads (15 minutes by car) where you can’t move without bumping into a social media influencer taking selfies with the backdrop of the gorgeous view, or opt for laid-back fish and chips right on the water at the Kurrawa Surf Club (walkable from the conference center). Oh and definitely try out Harijuku Gyoza, where you can get savory gyoza for dinner and finish up with dessert gyoza afterward (salted caramel gyoza with vanilla ice cream was my fave, but Nutella and matcha were popular choices as well…they’re small, get all of them and do a taste test!).

6.     The Beach. The Gold Coast has perfectly clear turquoise water with some great wave action for surfing if that’s your thing, or take lessons if you want it to be your thing. Waves vary depending on the time of day of course….but early evening, right as the conference lets outreach day, is a good time to go), and a white sand beach that is super clean and not crowded because Australians seem to think this is “winter weather” so the crowds on the actual beach aren’t large. Every day, after we finished our business events, we would go sit in the sand and listen to the waves and just relax for an hour or so before heading to dinner. A great way to cap off a conference day!

7.     Fitness/wellness/parks/playgrounds. There are instantly-joinable drop-in fitness classes in the beachfront park such as tai chi and yoga (you scan a QR code to pay the instructor), and a ton of bikes for rental. The entire beachfront is bordered by a paved, well-maintained running path set back from the sand, joining the beach with miles of parkland including exercise stations for runners as well as some amazing playgrounds for the kids (one is even encircled by a child-powered pedal train on a monorail track!). Gold Coast is a great destination for runners (Pro tip: make sure to follow incoming ICA president @claesdevreese and his hashtag #runningwithpresidents for updates on planned group runs! Warning: he wakes up early and he’s very fast). 

8.     The sessions! As always, the ICA conference has plenty of top-notch education and collaboration that you won’t want to miss. This year we’ll be split into two buildings again as we were in Prague; HOWEVER, the two session venues are more evenly divided and are linked by a wheelchair-accessible, covered pedestrian bridge over the canal, so you won’t need to dodge the silent trolleys or trip/roll over cobblestones as you rush between sessions. As in Prague, we will do our best to ensure that no division or interest group will be split between venues on the same day, to help eliminate the “mad dash” to get to related sessions. As much as is humanly possible, each DIG will have two days with the majority of their sessions at Star and two days at GCCEC. The walking time on the pedestrian footbridge is only seven minutes from the door of the Star (14 session rooms) to the door of the GCCEC (18 session rooms). Super easy, PLUS there’s a tree full of sleeping bats to look at on your way because #Australia. Even better, BOTH venues are primarily above-ground (no basement ballrooms this year!) with tons of natural light and many opportunities to step outside for fresh air or a quick snack at the plentiful food outlets just across the street (or in the Star’s food court). As always, ICA will provide morning and afternoon coffee and snacks, and while we are limited to choosing catering that the venue has on its menu, Australia is much more evolved than some other destinations in terms of plant-based and vegetarian/vegan options, so you can expect a more planet-friendly variety of food than we’ve been limited to in the past in less forward-thinking properties.

9.     Indigenous culture. We hope that many of our divisions and interest groups will take advantage of the rich indigenous culture of Australia and neighboring New Zealand while visiting this part of the world. We have many plans to incorporate both nature and indigenous culture and art into the conference wherever possible (both from a session content perspective and as part of social opportunities), including the customary Welcome to Country, so stay tuned for more on that.

10.  Side trips! If you can spare the time and budget, it makes sense to budget in a week or two extra to explore more of Australia (or hop over to New Zealand or connect to many destinations in Asia). Go further inland to wineries and camping in the Hinterland, go on a trek through the outback, jot over to beautiful and vibrant Melbourne, fly to Sydney and climb the Harbour Bridge (terrifying but so fun), sunbathe on Bondi Beach…the opportunities are endless. 

11. Friendliness. I have to add an extra bullet point, because one of the things that stood out the most on our trip was how nice and hospitable everyone is in Australia; I’ve been five times in the past two decades and I’ve noticed it every time. Qantas and Virgin Australia have the NICEST flight attendants in the sky, who actually seem like they care about you having a pleasant flight. Even the security agents at the Brisbane airport were pleasant, and apologized to my colleague, Director of Conference Services Jennifer Le, for not having reminded her to remove her laptop from her carry-on: “Ohhh, not YOUR fault, love! No worries! Take your time”). They were not being sarcastic! 

In short, Gold Coast somehow makes a “business trip” feel like a holiday. I have never come back from a site visit feeling so refreshed, and I am legitimately eager to get back there and hit our favorite spots, smell that salt air, and feel the ocean breeze. Trust me: you don’t want to miss this one.