President’s Welcome – December 2025

As we draw the curtain on another successful year, it’s important to look back on our achievements and reflect on the contribution our Executive Leadership Team has undertaken to ensure our Chamber’s ongoing success. This is included in detail within the President’s Report which I personally delivered at our AGM in October.

Before we sign off for the year, I’d like to highlight a couple of additional announcements which have taken place over the past few months since the AGM:

Crowne Plaza Announcement

We are thrilled to report that the proposed $150 million Crowne Plaza development on Ocean Street was approved by Sunshine Coast Council. Construction of the 180 room hotel which will include dining and entertainment facilities will commence in April next year and is expected to be completed by 2028.

Sunshine Coast Business Awards

We’ve included the full list of Maroochydore based winners in this newsletter but we’d like to single out our sponsors Carlos and Pat from Your Brand Crew (YBC) who were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2025 event. YBC has been a long term supporter of our Chamber and their commitment to our members along with the broader community is highly valued.

Mara – 6 Ocean Street

A development Application has been submitted for an upmarket 87-bed hostel at 6 Ocean Street, Maroochydore. The proposed hostel will be located on the upper level of the building, with the ground level of the existing building earmarked to accommodate hospitality and entertainment venues.

Direct Flights to Asia from Sunshine Coast

Locals can now enjoy direct flights from Sunshine Coast Airport to Singapore via Bali thanks to Jetstar. Commencing March 2026, the new service marks the first direct connection between the Sunshine Coast and Southeast Asia, with onward connectivity to more than 100 global destinations.

New ChamberCast Venue

We are thrilled to announce that our new podcast studio is located at the GSL Building in Maroochydore. Home to Mix and Sea FM, the specifically designed facility has been branded as the Storytellers Suite and hosts a range of locally produced podcasts. We were thrilled to interview new GSL Media Managing Director Carla Vella for our November podcast and followed up with the inspiring Dr Leon Stensholm from Lookout07 in December. We’ve now completed 27 podcasts since commencing a few years ago and we plan on continuing these important discussions in 2026. 

Brendan Bathersby

President