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One of the top priorities of the current Gold Coast Mayor when elected was a cruise ship terminal on the Gold Coast. However it seems that there has been so much bickering and angst, and so little information that you have to wonder if it will ever happen.
I am one of those people who wants a cruise ship terminal for the Gold Coast. Over the past few years I have taken to cruising like a duck to water, pardon the pun. It is a really easy way to travel, and you can get to visit places that you might not have been able to get otherwise. Plus the fact that you only have to unpack once, and there are very few disadvantages, except of course you don’t get to taste the local food unless you make a special effort.
However I digress. I don’t want a cruise ship terminal on the Gold Coast so I can cruise from the Gold Coast. Cruises are unlikely to be originating from the Gold Coast anyway. And in the past I have done most of my cruising in Europe around the Mediterranean, and will continue to do so whilst I am still able to put up with long haul flights. What cruising has demonstrated to me is how much money cruise ships bring into the economy.
The problem with the Gold Coast is that there are so many knockers. I keep hearing “we don’t want a cruise ship terminal”. Don’t we? Who is ‘we’? Or “the majority of people don’t want it”. Don’t they? Where is this majority?
Another favourite statement is “if they want to come to the Gold Coast they can come down from Brisbane”. And that is just the most misinformed statement of all. Because if tourists are arriving in Brisbane they don’t have to come anywhere near here. They can go to the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, or do day tours of Brisbane.
You see when a cruise ship docks in a port, anywhere between 1200 and 5000 passengers arrive. Most of them disembark. Many will go on tours. Yes “but they are the cruise ship organised tours” I hear you say. “They don’t bring any money, they just go off in a bus.”
Well who do you think organises those tours? Who do you think drives the bus? The captain of the cruise liner?
These are tours run by local companies. Local people being employed in the tourism industry. Local people driving the buses, cooking the lunches, preparing drinks, providing the commentary.
Then there are those like myself who don’t always go on the tours. Sometimes we just walk around and shop. Or go into local sites such as tourist attractions and museums. But you know what else people do? They get together and get taxis. Four people get together and negotiate with a cab driver for four hours and say “take us to some of the sites, or how much to take us to X and wait for us”.
I am going on a cruise very shortly and my travelling companion has organised push bikes for us in a number of ports, so we can disembark the ship, pick up the bikes and go cycling around the local sites. We are providing income to the local community. And that is where suggesting that “they can come down from Brisbane” is so misinformed. Because if they are coming down from Brisbane, it is Brisbane that will get the boost to the economy.
The Gold Coast is uniquely placed for cruise ship tourism. Apart from tours to the theme parks which are a given, there could be tours to Byron Bay, tours to Mt Warning, tours to Murwillumbah and Mullumbimby, Mt Tambourine, Binna Burra, Sanctuary Cove and Harbour Town. There are further opportunities for jet boat rides, canal cruises, surfing lessons, tours of the Billabong and Ugh boot factories. There are just so many place,s and you would be surprised where people will pay to go. And they could all be conducted by local operators, which is where the value to the economy comes in.
And even if the passengers don’t go on the tours, they get buses and taxis, they buy souvenirs, they eat and drink. I buy clothes and shoes. My travelling companion buys jewellery. We are relaxed and on holidays, and that is when people spend.
This is why I get so angry at all the knockers out there. Knockers that assume their opinion is what everyone else want. Knockers who are constantly telling us what won’t work. Stop telling us what won’t work and start telling us what will work. Stop telling us it can’t be done, and start telling us how it can be done. Everything is do-able. It is a matter of time and money. There are some people out there who are suggesting alternative ways a cruise ship terminal could be built, and they are to be applauded.
The rest of the population need to stop assuming they talk for everybody, and think about the small businesses on the Gold Coast that have suffered under the GFC and light rail, and start thinking about the long term benefits a cruise ship terminal could provide for them.
Tourism is not all about protecting the local environment. The Gold Coast needs to push forward in order to reclaim its mantle of one of Australia’s top tourist destinations. And to do so it needs to look at what tourists are doing. And it is an undeniable fact that what many of them are now doing in greater and greater numbers is going on cruises. Without a cruise ship terminal the Gold Coast is missing out on an opportunity to harness this valuable tourism sector.
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