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Aussie Gold Coast mayor's search for tourism boost could ruin legendary surf spots


Skift Take

Foreign surfers and global competitions bring an estimated $3.3 billion to the Gold Coast, but the proposed locations for new cruise ship terminals would wreck these world-renowned breaks and harsh the mellow of surfers worldwide.

... But the new Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate is absolutely determined to build [a cruise terminal] somewhere on the coast. Mayor Tate’s recent fact-finding mission to Miami and Las Vegas in search of inspiration to re-vitalise the GC’s tourist strip should leave no room for doubt what his intentions are.

Casinos and cruise ship terminals are his simplistic prescription for the Coast’s economic woes, but it’s hard to believe anyone would do something so clearly destined to destroy the southern pointbreaks.

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