Golden favourite

Australia's first and, arguably, favourite large-scale tourist destination, the Gold Coast extends
more than 70 kilometres along the south-east Queensland coastline.
Since the early years of the 20th century, it has attracted tourists, many returning year after year,
generation after generation, until they well and truly became honorary Queenslanders.

Follow this link for conference & function venues on the >> Gold Coast & Gold Coast Hinterland.

An important component to the tourism mix these days is conferences and meetings. The large number of hotels and resorts in the region cater for this segment and all offer various services in a variety of different ways. There are beach resorts, golfing resorts and hinterland resorts. And, with the creation of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, the area around Broadbeach is set to become host to large-scale national and international congresses.

The sun, surf and fun lifestyle that the Gold Coast promotes never seems to lose its popularity. From Coolangatta in the south, to its northern extremities the Coast boasts some 42 kilometres of beaches.

The main points along the coast - Coolangatta, Burleigh Heads, Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Southport - all have very distinct characters. Many of those down south still retain the quiet seaside resort experience of decades ago. Main Beach has the more upmarket hotels and resorts including Palazzo Versace and the Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast. But Surfers Paradise is where the tourism juggernaut all started when James Cavill purchased a block of land in 1923 to build the Surfers Paradise Hotel.

In Gold Coast folklore, this was the starting point from which the bright bikinis and shiny convertibles, tropical shirts and nouveau-riche canal estate tycoons sprang.

The family nature of the Gold Coast means that conventions and conferences often include a higher component of spouses, partners and their children. Pre- and post-meeting touring are also considerably more popular there.

Tourism promotions concentrate on "the green behind the gold" emphasising the unique natural beauty of the Gold Coast hinterland. An ideal staging point is the Tamborine Mountain area that includes an 1160-hectare national park. There are also a growing number of wineries in the hinterland and, although their vintages are still developing, some of these hinterland wines have taken out major international awards.

Gold Coast Airport has more than 22 daily direct flights to such destinations as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Freedom Air flies to four destinations in New Zealand (Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin), while international services travel to several points in Asia.