Maybe the problem with our nighttime economy isn’t that we don’t have enough to do. Maybe we’re giving people the wrong reasons to go out.
*(Based on a research article authored by the UniSC research team of Dr's Lenny Vance, Rory Mulcahy, David Fleischman, Andy Ward, Lachlan Goold & Harry Dugmore and published in the Journal of Services Marketing, August 2026)
New research into the Sunshine Coast’s nighttime economy, based on 577 residents, challenges the traditional focus on venues, entertainment and trading hours. Yes, quality, transport, safety and social experience matter.
But the really interesting finding? People spend and participate when they feel a connection to the place.
It’s not just about what’s happening. It's about whether people feel this is our place, our community, our night.
And then there’s FoMO.
The research suggests that making an experience feel unmissable can amplify those other factors and drive participation and expenditure.
For event organisers, venue operators, destination marketers and policymakers, this raises a bigger question:
Are we designing events that simply fill venues - or experiences that make people want to belong?
As the Sunshine Coast looks towards 2032, that distinction could matter more than ever.
The future of the nighttime economy might not be about creating more places to go. It might be about creating places people don’t want to miss.
Read the full blog following.
What Makes People Go Out at Night? New Research Reveals the Decisions Behind a Successful Nighttime Economy
If you work in events, hospitality, or venue management in the Sunshine Coast, you've probably had this conversation: "Our region has everything - growing population, great weather, plenty of disposable income - so why does the nighttime economy (NTE) still feel like it's underperforming?"
For years, conversations about the nighttime economy have tended to focus on obvious questions: How many people are going out? How much are they spending? Are venues busy enough to survive?
But perhaps the more important question is: What actually makes someone decide to go out in the first place?
Recent UniSC research examining the Sunshine Coast NTE provides some useful answers, and they have implications well beyond bars, clubs and restaurants. They matter to event organisers, live music venues, cultural organisations, sporting groups, destination marketers, transport planners and anyone involved in creating a vibrant NTE – especially outside the major metropolises.
The research, recently published in the Journal of Services Marketing, surveyed 577 Sunshine Coast residents to investigate the factors influencing participation in the nighttime economy (NTE), and importantly, what encourages people to spend once they are there.
The findings point to four interconnected decision-making factors: quality, social experience, transport and safety. Of these, transport, safety and quality demonstrated significant relationships with NTE participation and expenditure. But there is another ingredient that helps explain why these factors matter: place identity.
And then there is FoMO or the Fear of Missing Out.
For the events industry, this makes the research particularly interesting. A NTE is about much more than nightlife. A NTE involves the idea of the "third place" i.e. the spaces outside home and work where people meet, to connect socially and develop a sense of belonging.
That could be a pub, café, restaurant, live music venue, theatre, cultural space, sports club, night market or festival. The NTE is therefore much broader than the traditional image of bars and clubs. It encompasses the network of experiences and services that allow people to connect, participate and spend time together in communal places after dark.
This is important for the events industry because events are often the catalyst that activates these places.
A concert brings people into a precinct. A night market creates a reason to visit. A cultural performance can introduce people to a venue they might not otherwise use. A festival can connect multiple businesses and public places into a single experience.
The research argues that a healthy NTE can therefore generate both social value and economic value - creating opportunities for social connection and community while also supporting businesses, employment and expenditure.
Why the Sunshine Coast provides an interesting case
The research is particularly relevant because it focuses on a regional destination rather than one of the large metropolitan nightlife economies that dominate much of the existing research.
The Sunshine Coast has experienced significant population growth since COVID-19, yet this growth has not automatically translated into a distinctive or thriving NTE. This gap between population growth and nighttime vibrancy is exactly what motivated the research. The research was prompted in part by industry and media commentary suggesting that the region's NTE was in decline and had historically struggled to establish a strong identity.
That creates an interesting challenge.
How does a rapidly growing region create a NTE that is not simply a collection of individual businesses, but something that residents and visitors recognise as part of the identity of the destination?
This question is particularly significant as the Sunshine Coast prepares for increased visitation and activity associated with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
One of the most valuable aspects of the research for an industry audience is that the factors tested in the survey were not developed entirely from academic theory. Rather than relying on assumptions, the study's authors went directly to the people who understand the friction points best to ground the research in the real life.
Interviews were firstly conducted with local Sunshine Coast NTE operators, including venue operators, performers and associated workers. Insights from these interviews were used alongside previous research to develop the survey measures examining the barriers and decision-making factors affecting participation by Sunshine Coast residents and visitors.
The research effectively brought together two perspectives: what the academic literature suggests influences nighttime participation and what people actually working in the local Sunshine Coast NTE were experiencing.
This matters because so much of the existing academic literature on NTE has been built around large metropolitan cities such as London, Sydney and major U.S. cities where the scale, density, and culture of nightlife is fundamentally different. Regional nighttime economies tend to be smaller, more dispersed, and more seasonal. But they can also be more deeply woven into local community identity than the often more transient, cosmopolitan nightlife of big cities.
Building the research directly from operator interviews meant the resulting model was grounded in regional reality, not simply borrowed from big-city assumptions. This provides an important industry reality check.
Out of that groundwork, four themes emerged as particularly important for people to weigh up before heading out at night:
1. Quality still matters
For an events professional, this might seem obvious. People will not repeatedly attend an event if the experience is poor - but the evaluation of quality in the research extends beyond simply asking whether the performer was good.
People consider the quality and variety of what is available, the infrastructure, food, entertainment and overall experience. Distinctive, locally relevant offerings can be particularly valuable because they provide an alternative to simply travelling elsewhere for entertainment. This has an important implication for regional events.
Being "good" may not be enough. Being distinctive can matter more.
What makes an event, venue or precinct feel like something you can only experience here? Local artists, local food, local stories, unusual venues, regional culture and experiences that connect with the character of a place can all contribute to that perception.
Additionally, what is the social environment? Will it have the vibe I'm after i.e. busy and fun, or quiet and relaxed, and how packed will it be?
2. Transport is part of the event experience
It is easy for event organisers to think of transport as someone else's problem. The event starts at 7pm; the venue has been booked; tickets have been sold. Getting people there and home can seem like an issue for the individual attendee.
The research suggests otherwise.
For regional events, this means that the journey home is part of the product. Questions like - Can people get there easily? How much will it cost? Is the journey convenient? Can they get home after the event finishes? - were consistently raised about the Sunshine Coast situation.
These questions can influence the decision to attend before someone has even considered the quality of the entertainment.
For event planners, transport therefore needs to be considered as part of the audience experience rather than simply as supporting infrastructure.
The literature reviewed in the study identifies the lack of effective public transport as a factor that can negatively affect NTE participation, while transport availability also has implications for inclusion and safety.
3. Safety is not just a regulatory issue
Safety emerged as another critical consideration.
Nighttime safety is often discussed in terms of managing risk, crime, alcohol-related behaviour and antisocial activity. The research acknowledges this history but suggests that safety should also be considered from the perspective of the customer's decision to participate: Will I feel safe while I'm there, and will I be able to get home safely?
This shifts the conversation.
Safety is not simply about compliance, security staff or emergency management. It is part of customer confidence.
For events, this means thinking about lighting, pedestrian movement, transport connections, venue design, precinct activation and the experience of leaving an event.
It also reinforces the relationship between safety and transport. An event may feel perfectly safe while someone is inside the venue, but if getting home involves a long walk through an empty precinct or an uncertain transport connection, the perceived experience changes.
4. Social connection is one of the main reasons people go out
Conceivably the most interesting factor is social.
People do not necessarily participate in the nighttime economy simply because they want entertainment. They go out because they want to be with other people.
Research reviewed in the study describes nighttime activity as a source of social wellbeing, community building and psychological support. Nighttime spaces can allow people to meet friends, connect with strangers and participate in shared experiences.
For events, this is a powerful reminder that the social experience is often as important as the programmed experience.
An event is not simply something that happens to an audience. It creates the circumstances in which an audience interacts with other people.
This helps explain why atmosphere matters.
Is the venue too empty? Is it too crowded? Does it feel energetic? Relaxed? Welcoming? Is there a sense that something is happening?
These seemingly intangible elements influence whether people feel that they belong in a space and participate in the activity happening there.
The missing piece: place identity
The research becomes particularly interesting when these factors are considered through the concept of place identity. People develop emotional and symbolic connections to places. A venue, precinct, town or region can become part of how people see themselves.
The Real Insight: It's Not Just About Convenience - It's About Identity
Think about the difference between: "There is a concert happening at a venue."
and: "This is the place where our community goes to hear live music."
The second statement is about identity.
And here's where the research gets genuinely useful for events and venue strategy. The standout finding wasn't simply that safety, transport, and quality matter (though they do). It's that these factors only translate into real spending and repeat participation when they help build something deeper: place identity, that is, the emotional sense that "this nighttime scene is part of who I am, and part of what makes my town, my town."
Venues, precincts, and events that plug into that sense of identity don't just get one-off visits, they get engagement that shows up in usage and expenditure down the line. In other words, ticking the transport and safety boxes gets someone through the door. Making them feel like the night out reflects their community and their identity is what turns that into loyalty and spend.
The research found a strong relationship between place identity and both NTE usage and expenditure. In other words, the economic value of the NTE cannot be separated entirely from the emotional relationship people have with the places in which those experiences occur.
This has major implications for destination development.
If we want people to spend more time and money in a place after dark, simply adding more entertainment may not be enough. We need to create places that people care about.
Don't just build a nightlife offer. Build a sense of place.
This is perhaps the biggest takeaway for destination marketers, local planning by councils and event strategists.
The research argues that place identity is influenced by much more than the core entertainment product. Public transport, safety, urban design and regulatory settings all contribute to whether people can comfortably participate in the NTE.
That means the NTE should not be treated as a collection of isolated businesses.
It is an ecosystem.
A great venue surrounded by poor transport options is not a great nighttime destination.
A precinct with excellent restaurants but nowhere that feels safe after dark will struggle.
An event with an excellent program but no connection to the identity of the destination may create a temporary spike in visitation without building a lasting relationship with the place.
The opportunity is to connect all of these elements.
And then there is FoMO…
The research also examined Fear of Missing Out (FoMO).
In the context of a NTE, FoMO is particularly relevant because many experiences are social, time-sensitive and shared publicly through social media. People may be motivated not only by what they will experience themselves, but by the possibility that their friends or social networks are having an experience without them. This finding is about timing and psychology!
The research found that FoMO strengthens the relationship between the decision-making factors and participation and expenditure.
Put simply, when people have a stronger fear of missing out, the things that make an event or destination attractive become even more influential.
Perhaps an obvious but significantly strategic insight with marketing implications.
It suggests that the "must-visit" framing, the sense that something is happening now, that others are already there, that missing it means missing out on a shared moment, is often what activates all the other decision-making factors in the first place. Social proof and urgency aren't just marketing flourishes; they appear to be the mechanism that makes safety, transport, and quality investments actually pay off in attendance and spend.
An event does not necessarily need to manufacture anxiety around missing out. But it can make the social value of participation visible.
Show people what is happening.
Show the atmosphere.
Show people enjoying themselves.
Show the local artists.
Show the food.
Show the unexpected moments.
Give potential audiences a reason to think: I want to be there.
The researchers suggest that venues and precincts can position themselves as "must-visit" or "not to be missed" destinations, using social and mass media to activate this effect.
What does this mean for the events industry?
The research provides a useful framework for thinking differently about event development in regional destinations.
Rather than asking only "What event should we put on?", perhaps we should be asking:
Will people feel that this is a place they want to be?
That leads to a much broader set of questions:
Is the experience high quality and distinctive?
Does it create opportunities for genuine social connection?
Can people get there easily?
Can they get home safely?
Does the venue or precinct feel welcoming and vibrant?
Does the event reflect the identity of the local community?
Are local artists, food, stories and culture part of the experience?
Does the event give people something they will want to talk about and share?
Does it strengthen people's relationship with the destination?
These are not simply marketing questions. They are place-making questions.
The opportunity for the Sunshine Coast (and other regional destinations)
The research is based on one regional Australian destination, so its findings should not automatically be assumed to apply identically everywhere. The authors acknowledge that cultural and geographic differences may change the importance placed on individual factors.
But that limitation does not diminish the value of the framework.
For the Sunshine Coast, the findings suggest that building a stronger NTE is unlikely to be achieved through a single intervention.
It requires a coordinated approach involving events, entertainment, hospitality, transport, safety, regulatory planning, marketing and place-making.
Most importantly, it requires a shift in thinking.
Translating the research into practical takeaways for the industry and policy makers:
Don't treat infrastructure and identity as separate problems. Investing in safer precincts, better lit walkways, or improved late-night transport options isn't just a compliance or risk-management exercise. Done well, it's part of building a nighttime identity people want to be associated with. Multi-faceted place-making, not single-issue fixes, is what moves the needle.
Localise the offering. The research points to real value in showcasing local talent and performers, local food and drink producers, and local stories and traditions within nighttime events. Rather than importing generic "big city" nightlife formats, this is what builds the emotional attachment that keeps people coming back and spending more.
Lean into "must-visit" marketing. Framing events and precincts as unmissable through social media, targeted campaigns, and visible social proof appears to activate the psychological trigger that makes people actually respond to safety, transport, and quality improvements. A well-run late-night shuttle service means little if nobody feels they'll be missing out by not using it.
Regional nightlife has its own logic, don't just copy the big cities. What works in Sydney or Melbourne's nightlife precincts won't automatically translate to a growing regional centre. Regional nighttime economies can be more tightly bound to community identity and social cohesion, including helping retain younger residents who might otherwise leave for bigger cities. That's a genuine point of difference worth building a strategy around, not something to apologise for.
Frame the NTE as a Balanced Ecosystem. For local councils, licensing bodies, and community stakeholders, let’s reframe the narrative around the NTE. Move away from viewing nightlife solely through the lens of risk management, and emphasize its role in promoting social wellbeing, community cohesion, and regional economic prosperity.
Looking Ahead
The researchers also flag an interesting emerging counter-trend worth watching: JoMO, that is the Joy of Missing Out. Post-pandemic shifts in behaviour, along with younger generations increasingly prioritising personal time and wellbeing, suggest that not everyone is chasing the next big night out. For venues and event organisers, that's a reminder that the FoMO playbook won't work on every segment and that flexible, low-pressure formats may need a place in the mix too.
For a region on the cusp of the international spotlight ahead of Brisbane 2032, the message is clear: nighttime economic growth isn't just about opening more venues or extending trading hours. It's about building safe, well-connected, high-quality experiences that genuinely reflect the identity of the community and then making sure people know they don't want to miss it.
The NTE is about creating places where people want to spend time, connect with others and feel that they belong.
And when people begin to identify with those places, the research suggests, the social benefits and the economic benefits can reinforce each other.
That may ultimately be the real opportunity for regional events and community planning: not just filling venues after dark, but helping create places that people don't want to miss.
Comments