Gold Coast, Queensland
It was all fun and games on Australia’s Gold Coast last month as the 2018 Commonwealth Games rolled into town - and the destination ‘reinvented’ itself for the occasion
“Travellers want memories over monuments, and the Gold Coast is rising to the challenge”
Jan Hutton, Chief Marketing Officer, Gold Coast Tourism
Visitors enjoy golden moments
The Gold Coast in Queensland was in the spotlight last month as it hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Up to 4,500 athletes from 71 nations – competing for 275 gold medals – and 600,000 visitors descended on the metropolitan region south of Brisbane, on Australia’s east coast.
“Hotels, restaurants, attractions and tours have enjoyed a surge of interest, and benefited from many visitor markets they were previously less familiar with,” said Destination Gold Coast’s CCEO Martin Winter.
The destination is a popular holiday getaway due to attractions that include 57 kilometres of sandy beaches (with surf breaks perfect for both pros and beginners), a system of inland canals and waterways stretching for 250km and family attractions including theme parks like Dreamworld, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild.
Inland, visitors will find 100,000 hectares of rainforests, including the World Heritagelisted Gondwana Rainforest, with panoramic views and waterfalls. Hiking trails criss-cross Lamington National Park’s mountain ridges and valleys, home to rare birds and rainforest.
New Gold Coast
Returning Brits who have previously visited the Gold Coast a few years back will certainly notice changes today, says Jan Hutton, Chief Marketing Officer of Gold Coast Tourism
“The lure of the white sandy beaches and blue skies of the Gold Coast has put us on the ‘must visit’ list for generations of UK holiday-makers. Today Brits are taking a second look at our city, because we’re not the place they used to know.”
“Just like traveller expectations, our city has evolved. Yes, we’re still home to incredible beaches and theme parks, but there is now so much more to the Gold Coast story.”
Hutton added: “Through two years of research and consultation, we’ve discovered that what distinguishes the Gold Coast in an everincreasing world of choice for travellers is not actually our beaches or theme parks. Instead, it’s the unmistakable life affirming energy that lives here.
“It’s the promise of what a visitor will feel when they come here. It’s your shoulders relaxing as you look toward the rainforest canopy or stand beneath a waterfall in our hinterland. It’s meeting locals at a street food market in the back streets. It’s chatting with the brewer over a cold craft beer and discovering new and unique neighbourhoods off the wellworn path. “destinationgoldcoast.com
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Destination Gold Coast’s CCEO Martin Winter said the Gold Coast’s tourism industry had been preparing for the Games since 2011.
More than $13.5 billion (around £8.3 billion) has been pumped into major infrastructure projects that will leave a lasting legacy for city residents. A signature development is the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct, a new hub for arts, culture and creative enterprises aimed at locals and visitors alike. The new outdoor space will cater for festivals, cinema, concerts and events.