Around 7,000 conference delegates from two of the most fired-up business sectors will head to the Gold Coast from this weekend, with a rush of businesses also locking conferences into the city over the coming months.

The return run of conferences, that includes 3,000 real estate and up to 4,000 pharmacy professionals descending on the city in the next 10 days, are expected to inject $11 million into the Gold Coast economy by the end of the month.

A further 166 conferences and meetings, valued at more than $184 million, have also been booked by the city.

In 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic, almost half of all business events hosted in Queensland were held on the Gold Coast, injecting $570 million into the economy.

Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said the business conference sector on the Gold Coast was starting to recover after a challenging year.

“We’re delighted to see the return of large-scale business events in an unquestionably clear sign that we are headed for a strong recovery of this vital industry,” O’Callaghan said.

“Destination Gold Coast, in partnership with local industry, has secured 166 future conferences and meetings for the destination valued at over $184 million despite the difficult environment resulting from COVID-19.

“We are also actively working with event organisers to confirm an additional $143 million of conferences and meetings through strategic marketing activities and bid opportunities.”

O’Callaghan said demand for conferences was building following the easing of pandemic social distancing restrictions and as workplaces across the country adapted to the “new normal” of flexible working arrangements that have left many central business districts resembling ghost towns.

She said there was pent up demand among businesses to host get-togethers so professionals could re-connect with their networks and re-establish professional relationships in person.

A survey of more than 7500 office workers and 150 executives this week found many workers now expected to spend some time each week working from home in a radical and permanent shakeup to workforce behaviour.

While the Dexus research showed 80 per cent of workers said they missed the office, almost three in four employees still wanted to work from home at least one day a week.

It found 24 per cent wanted to work two days or more a week from home, leaving much professional contact to be hosted by remote working technologies and video conferencing.

“There is a compelling desire to meet face-to-face, a consistent sentiment across the industry, so we are optimistic the pent-up demand for business events will be very strong,” O’Callaghan said.

Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre general manager Adrienne Readings said  large business conferences were vital to delivering the Gold Coast a much-needed economic boost to both the event industry and local economy.

“We’re thrilled to welcome both the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference and Australasian Real Estate Convention back to the Gold Coast and our venue this month. It’s fantastic to see the city buzzing with the return of thousands of intrastate and interstate business event visitors,” Readings said.