Gold Coast fighting for what's left after COVID-19 armageddon damages tourism, businesses

Two and a half months on from the global coronavirus pandemic the city is no longer imagining new offerings - instead it is fighting for what is left.

TWO years ago last week, the Gold Coast’s tourism leaders highlighted how large-scale new attractions and infrastructure were critical to maintaining the city’s appeal for visitors.

It has been a common theme of any conversation exploring Gold Coast visions for the future ever since, particularly late last year when the Bulletin launched the Future Gold Coast series.

Now, two and a half months on from the global coronavirus pandemic putting an exclamation mark on its Glitter Strip arrival when A-list movie star Tom Hanks tested positive and checked into Gold Coast University Hospital, the city is no longer gripped with imagining new offerings.

Instead it is fighting to hang on to the attractions it has.

And do not forget the 7800 small businesses already estimated to have hit the wall by April due to unprecedented social restrictions aimed at halting the virus spread.

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A deserted Movieworld on the first day of Easter school holidays. Picture: Tertius Pickard

The Gold Coast’s theme parks, trying to recover from the industry’s darkest day when four patrons were killed in the catastrophic Dreamworld ride failure in 2016, are battling for survival.

As revealed in the Bulletin this past week, Village Roadshow – one of the city’s biggest employers with 5000 staff across parks including Sea World, Movie World and Wet ‘n’ Wild – is having to negotiate a bailout with the State Government or contemplate an uncertain future.

Debt-ridden Virgin Australia, which brings in almost half of the Gold Coast’s domestic visitors – has been on its knees.

Such a scenario at the start of the year was unthinkable. Back then the city was basking in the glow of another attention-grabbing Magic Millions yearling sales and racing carnival. One of its biggest headaches was the ongoing debate about whether Star Entertainment Group should be granted exclusive casino rights for decades in exchange for supercharging the city’s convention centre with a $100 million expansion and contractually committing to its own $2 billion masterplan at Broadbeach Island.

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A cyclist is seen riding past a barrier across the Queensland and New South Wales border in Coolangatta. The border closure came into force at midnight April 3, 2020. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

International and domestic visitor numbers were growing year on year with the biggest concern around whether spend per tourist and length of stay were high enough.

Two years ago city tourism supremo Paul Donovan – agitating for a wishlist of new attractions including walking tracks, a cableway and cruise ship terminal – summed up the Gold Coast as being “about memories really”.

“We want to deliver memories for tourists about their experiences and we need to create unique experiences,” he said.

Fast forward to now and he has a much different description for the decimated city.

“It’s shock and awe,” he said at the height of the border uncertainty earlier this month.

The city went into economic free fall as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk backflipped on her initial July 10 reopening of the border for interstate travel. Suddenly September was “more realistic”, sending a three-week chill down the shine of the tourism powerhouse as it screamed for leadership and certainty.

An airport in the midst of a $600 million upgrade staring at a 99 per cent reduction in passengers numbers from 400-plus flights a week to three. “Shock and awe.”

A theme park operator with many of its 5000 staff on Federal Government economic life support of $1500-a-fortnight JobKeeper payments that expire in three months. “Shock and awe.”

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A lifeblood $6 billion-a-year tourism industry facing a whopping $4.3 billion hit with visitation all but destroyed. “Shock and awe.”

Major event and production cancellations became routine.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie blockbuster was the first to stall before it was no GC600 in October, no Gold Coast Marathon mid-year, no Blues on Broadbeach, no Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, and maybe even no Schoolies.

“It’s shock and awe,” said Mr Donovan, chairman of the Gold Coast Marathon and Destination Gold Coast tourism marketing body, repeating it over and over while reflecting on the fallout.

The debilitating coronavirus “shock and awe” effect bit in very grim ways for Gold Coasters suddenly out of work, including tens of thousands of Kiwis falling through the cracks of new financial stimulus measures.

Never mind a much-hyped fear of a “second wave” of coronavirus hitting the Gold Coast – which has very few active cases. Mental health services are dealing with a “second wave” of job loss anxiety, depression and even worse. Advocates are bracing for a 50 per cent increase in suicides. More than 3000 Australians already take their own lives every year.

A Currumbin mental health facility is reporting a 20 per cent jump in people seeking help for dealing with alcohol abuse.

Police, getting a breather with slashed crime rates the past month attributed to social distancing, anticipated a spike in crime born out of desperation. The city’s top cop Mark Wheeler told the Bulletin: “The causes of crime are really complex but some people will commit crime out of necessity.”

The Gold Coast Bulletin and struggling business owners invited Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to visit the Gold Coast to see the pain first-hand.

Six days later she doubled patron limits from 10 to 20 and allowed gyms to reopen within 24 hours.

Her enabling of limitless internal Queensland travel prompted the city’s tourism marketing boss Annaliese Battista to say it would do little to move the dial.

When Cr Tate made it clear he backed the Premier’s ongoing border block until “it is safe”, the Bulletin called four operators – two restaurateurs, an activity owner and a tower manager – who all heavily criticised his support for it.

One of the Gold Coast's biggest pubs is opened in just weeks ago to serve just 10 people when it has a seating capacity of 800. Jemma Ellis and Adam Syla get ready to eat at Robina Pavilion. Picture Glenn Hampson

Restaurateur of 30-plus years Michael Fusco said he felt the city’s usually pro-business, pro-development mayor was a “deserter” who had “left us high and dry”.

The circus welcomed more clown-type antics this week when the Bulletin revealed:

● Business owners are on the “cusp of rebellion” after watching 30,000 protesters defy social distancing rules in the Brisbane CBD. Premier Palaszczuk infuriated them further by saying she told protesters to stay away.

● Last week the Bulletin revealed Treasury was not modelling the financial cost of the NSW border closure. This week it reported the Palaszczuk Government was preparing to somehow not admit in the High Court that Queensland’s exile from the rest of the country is not responsible for any economic hardship. Gold Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said it was the most “ludicrous” thing he had heard.

On Friday, the Mayor changed his mind and gave the Premier an ultimatum to announce a date.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered that on her behalf yesterday. Business owners would have liked the border to be reopened earlier, but at least they have some clarity – and it is certainly not September.

Now the conversation can head in new directions – the way out of the pandemic’s economic straitjacket and somewhere near where it was two years ago: what infrastructure will be crucial in the immediate future for a shell-shocked city.