THE HOLIDAY VIBE

IT’S official. The Christmas school holidays have begun and arriving with them today is the first wave of holidaying families intent on beach fun in the sun.

All those tourists are hoping that the weather is kind. So are the city’s accommodation houses, theme parks, restaurants and a long list of other attractions.

Shopping malls and cinemas always enjoy a silver lining if and when the rain buckets down, but they would join everyone else in hoping the cyclone stays clear and predicted wet weather is kind. We don’t want a wet blanket on proceedings.

This is the time of year the Gold Coast comes into its own.

Our city is the nation’s tourism capital. It is an international destination.

Families, workers, battlers, bigwigs, even prime ministers – they all come here for the Christmas-New Year holidays.

We can all contribute to the holiday vibe and ensure those visitors have a great time by smiling more often, being polite and – above all else – showing courtesy on the roads. Traffic will be heavy, but let’s make this a fatality-free holiday.