Gold Coast tourism: Artificial dive site, beach bars on agenda

It’s a surfer’s paradise and theme park central, but there are two new features the Gold Coast is banking on to pack in the tourists.

THE Gold Coast could become home to the world’s top artificial dive site and best beach bars, as part of a plan to cash in on the city’s most ­famous assets.

Plans for an underwater dive precinct are finally gathering momentum, while trials of beachfront bars – previously a no-go zone on the Gold Coast — have so far delivered ­encouraging results that city leaders hope to serve as a prototype for the future.

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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has long championed plans for a dive attraction, which is now finally set to ­become a reality after a $5 million investment jointly funded by the city council and state government.

The dive market is seen as a particularly lucrative sector of the tourism industry as it is an expensive hobby usually ­fav­oured by big-spending travellers.

Tenders for the project, to initially feature a structure set in 30m of water located 2.5km off Main Beach have closed, with a successful contractor expected to be announced within weeks.

It is hoped that the attraction will be operating within three years, with scope for ­future phases to include an underwater memorial garden, an art gallery sculpture trail off Wavebreak Island and ­potentially an aviation or aircraft attraction.

Cr Tate said the Gold Coast’s planned dive precinct could continue to evolve over the next 10 to 15 years, making it the world’s premier destination for artificial dive sites.

“It has previously been common practice to scuttle retired warships to become dive attractions, but we don’t want to follow other cities – that is why we want to see an eco-engineered structure that fast- tracks the growth and attraction of marine life,” he said.

“My vision is to see this dive precinct expand to also include an underwater memorial cemetery, where (people’s) ashes are mixed in with environmentally friendly materials.

“It would be the largest ­artificial dive precinct in the world.”

Destination Gold Coast chief executive Annaliese Battista said the region already owned the mantle of the country’s top beach destination, but needed to continue to evolve.

“The beach is now more the setting of a much broader Gold Coast experience and the opportunity to add value through beachside dining and bars is one that should be further explored,” she said.

The Star Entertainment Group plans a $2 billion Broadbeach expansion.

The area around Main Beach is also in line for a major makeover, as Sea World plans a $50 million Atlantis precinct as part of a $145 million transformation of The Spit, which could feature the Gold Coast’s answer to New York’s Central Park.