Every year, around 10 million tourists visit the Gold Coast region, including 849,114 overseas visitors, 3,468,000 domestic overnight guests, and 5,366,000 daytrip visitors. Tourism is the region’s largest industry, directly contributing more than $4.4 billion to the city economy each year and directly accounting for one in every four jobs. The city has approximately 65,000 beds, 60 kilometers (37 miles) of beach, 600 kilometers (370 miles) of canal, 100,000 hectares of nature reserve, 500 restaurants, 40 golf courses, and 5 major theme parks. There have been several possibilities and plans for additional theme parks beyond the present five.
Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Tiger Airways fly from Gold Coast Airport to destinations all around Australia. International flights from Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia also arrive at Gold Coast Airport, with airlines such as Flyscoot, Jetstar, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, and Airasia X. Brisbane Airport is less than an hour from the Gold Coast’s central business district, and direct trains run.
The Gold Coast’s climate guarantees that visitors may enjoy the region all year. It has a moderate, subtropical climate, with January highs of 29°C and July highs of 21°C. The winter months get minimal rainfall, whilst the summer months feature frequent storms from the west.
When planning your days on the Gold Coast, keep in mind that rain forecasts often correlate to sudden and strong afternoon storms, rather than long periods of mild rain.
With a population of 550,000 people, the Gold Coast is a significant metropolitan region. The Gold Coast’s infrastructure, facilities, services, and labor market are shared with Brisbane to the north. Workers often travel between the two via train and car.
Unfortunately, many visitors consider Surfers Paradise is an overdeveloped ‘tourist trap’ because of its highrise structures and crowds. However, the majority of these structures are local residences. There are also various businesses and enterprises in the city that are not directly tied to tourism.
The more well-known Gold Coast spans along the coastal suburbs from Paradise Point to Tweed Heads (about 35km). Surfers Paradise, located at the northern end, is the center of the recreational activities.
Gold Coast City has developed from a tiny coastal tourist resort to Australia’s sixth biggest city (and the country’s most populated non-capital city) in the last fifty years. With a 5-year annual average population growth rate of 3.4 percent, compared to 1.2 percent for Australia, the city is presently regarded Australia’s fastest growing big city, located inside South East Queensland’s boom corridor. Gross Regional Product increased by 61 percent from A$9.7 billion in 2001 to A$15.6 billion in 2008. With about 10 million tourists to the region each year, tourism remains critical to Gold Coast City’s economy. Historically, the economy was driven by population-derived businesses like as construction, tourism, and retail. Diversification has occurred, and the city currently has an economic foundation comprised of maritime, education, information communication and technology, food, tourist, creative, environmental, and sports businesses. The City of Gold Coast Council has designated these nine sectors as critical to the city’s economic growth. The unemployment rate in Gold Coast City (5.6%) is lower than the national average (5.9 per cent).
Many lodging establishments provide free Wi-Fi to its visitors. Other Wi-Fi hotspots include McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s restaurants, as well as coffee shops like Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s. Except for Mudgeeraba and the mobile library, all Gold Coast City Branch libraries provide free Wi-Fi.
