By Amy Remeikis
Theme parks and sunshine will be central to a new tourism push for the Gold Coast.
Theme parks, theme parks, theme parks and sunshine.
The concept works selling Orlando in the US. Now the Gold Coast is hoping for the same boost.
A $15 million joint "major" interstate tourism campaign, launched at Movie World on Tuesday afternoon, aims to sell the Gold Coast to New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart using the Glitter Strip's point of difference – the theme parks that put it on the map in the 1980s and the sunshine that gives the state its golden sheen.
Alex the lion gives Treasurer Tim Nicholls a hug, but Premier Campbell Newman misses out, at Movie World.Credit: Amy Remeikis
Following a move in the US which saw Universal join forces with its "enemy" Disney for the greater good, Dreamworld, Whitewater World, Seaworld, Wet 'n' Wild and Movie World have come together for the first time to sell the Gold Coast as the "theme park capital of Australia".
The campaign sees Seaworld's dolphins feature side-by-side with Dreamworld's tigers, and Movieworld's stunt driving team next to the Tower of Terror.
"This campaign unashamedly focuses on kids getting their parents to go where they want to go," Treasurer Tim Nicholls said.
The campaign will hit key tourism markets from October 27 – and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Gold Coast, which is currently in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Gold Coast has featured as the first line of defence in the government's war on bikies, bringing with it extra police and strong rhetoric.
Premier Campbell Newman said the new campaign, while timely, had been in the works for "many months".
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