15 May 2023
Words
John Miller Informer 106
Surf’s Up!
After the Covid tsunami, Australia’s No. 1 tourist destination is riding the perfect wave.
The Gold Coast was dumped by Covid, a mountain of a wave if ever there was one. Its annual $6 billion tourist economy leaked $4 billion during the pandemic as the city endured lockdowns and border closures which drowned its tourist industry.
Hotel operators couldn’t get a break, and the start-stop-start-stop approach to the lifting of restrictions and the resumption of business made for a choppy ride on the way out of the pandemic.
But since the end of October when the last restrictions lifted, the Goldie has come out shining.
Operators are reporting a cracking Christmas, for some the best on record, reaching historically high room rates and occupancy. (Our long-time local broker Todd Warner gives us his inside take on p9.)
What’s more, a spate of billion-dollar pipeline projects, top-line developments and glitzy openings herald a new dawn for the Goldie. At Southport, construction is underway on the Gold Coast’s biggest development, the $2.3 bn Imperial Square whose centrepiece will be the 108-level Imperial Tower which is set to knock Q1 off its spot as Australia’s tallest building.
At Surfers, St. Regis Gold Coast will roll out the red carpet at Budds Beach in 2027. The Marriott-owned luxury hotel is part of Gurner’s $1.7 bn four-tower La Pelago project.
Another Surfers development, the $1 bn three-tower Paradiso Place residences, which was given the green light by council last May, scooped up nine gongs for its developer Hong Kong-based SPG Land at the Asia Property Awards in December. The prestigious Garfield Terrace strip is primed for three new luxury high-rises, including Coast, a $200 m 37-storey tower, which will be the first skyrise built on the stretch in 15 years.
At Burleigh Heads, Australia’s largest hotel chain Accor is nearing completion of its twin tower development, the Mondrian Hotel and Mondrian Residences Gold Coast on The Esplanade. Mondrian Residences owners will have the best of both worlds: an ultra-premium private abode fully serviced by an international five star hotel. (See our feature on p14.)
At Broadbeach, Star’s $2.3 bn four-tower master project continues apace. The first stage of the project, The Dorsett and Star Residences, which includes the luxury 316-key Dorsett hotel and 423-apartment Star Residences, opened its doors in late December 2021. Next door, construction on Epsilon continues, while construction on the final two towers is yet to begin. When fully realised, The Star Gold Coast will be Australia’s largest mixed-use resort, comprising 1,200 hotel rooms and 900 residences.
Ultiqa Hotels & Resorts continues its love affair with Broadbeach. Its fourth property, Ultiqa Signature, opens there in the second half of this year (Our feature on p16 has more.) Main Beach is set for the biggest overhaul of all. The Gold Coast suburb will see three major projects come to fruition over the next few years, breathing new life into a part of the coast that fell by the wayside over the last decade. (For more, read our developer profile on p18.)
To bring in tourists, Gold Coast Airport expanded its capacity by six new gates when its $260 m expansion opened last September. Domestic tourists are already coming in droves to the coast, and the return of international visitors is only a matter of time.
Cranes on the coast are as natural as surf and sand, but the colossal scale of developments up and down the coast from Main Beach to Coolangatta indicate a groundswell is building for a new golden age. END
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