YOUR VIEWS
RE: CHRISTMAS lights, Tom Tate has lost completely touch with the people who voted him in and all Gold Coasters.
There is no logical reason to cancel the competition.
Council doesn’t have to do anything, all the work and enjoyment is by locals.
He wastes so much of our money on his pet projects.
To say we can use online ways of celebrating is totally ridiculous. Maybe a sponsor can take over from council.
RICHARD FIELD, ASHMORE
THE chairman of Destination Gold Coast, Mr Paul Donovan, is correct when he calls for the removal of the, “Glitter Strip” as a term to define Gold Coast or, more particularly, Surfers Paradise. (Ditch the glitter, this place is gold, GCB 13/11)
In the Gold Coast Bulletin over the past weeks we have read an excellent series of Future Gold Coast articles defining and suggesting some great ideas, with some people simply flying kites on how we approach and manage the future of a city with a projected population of one million.
One thing is crystal clear, everybody on the Gold Coast contributes to the city’s brand personality and we all need to make every effort to ensure the city’s brand is enhanced and not trashed.
In a recent study by Urbis “Vision Fit Gold Coast” for a previous Gold Coast Bulletin series on key indicators, people, planet, performance, positivity, power and place, the Gold Coast ranked behind Singapore, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Geelong and only Toowoomba trailed the Gold Coast in overall ratings.
As Queensland approaches the 2032 Brisbane Olympics (the Olympics are much broader than just Brisbane) those pulling the strings on the state’s branding will need to decide how to successfully brand the state and our regions to ensure the state receives the maximum return on investment in securing the Olympic Games. Simply allowing a free for all where everyone competes against everyone may not deliver the maximum benefit for Queensland’s economy and jobs growth.
Now back to Mr Donovan, I have known Paul for a very long time. He is a fiercely passionate and parochial advocate for the city.
He listens and while not always agreeing he is experienced enough to understand others have the right to express their views and he takes note of what is said and acts where appropriate.
Last year, Mr Donovan. as acting chief executive officer Destination Gold Coast displayed a level of compassion and care towards those impacted by the global pandemic, especially his beloved tourism and hospitality operators and their employees. I can well remember multiple occasions where he asked people if they were OK. It became his trademark, “hello, are you OK?”
Mr Donovan’s enormous drive and his contribution to the tourism and hospitality industry and the city over nearly two decades is an extraordinary community commitment, one that will be remembered long after his departure as chairman of Destination Gold Coast in November 2021.
RICHARD HOLLIDAY, SURFERS PARADISE