Gold Coast We Can Do Better - 2011-09-05

Returning with my wife Kate from 3 weeks of overseas holiday that included Vancouver, a 7 day Alaskan cruise finishing with 4 days in Las Vegas, we were forcibly reminded of just how competitive the tourism industry is. I love this city, like most of us that chose to live here, whenever I am away I act as an ambassador, extolling all we have to offer. My first surprise when meeting many of the 2500 passengers on the cruise was that not one of them had heard of the Gold Coast. This even included the crew and officers who were excited that their ship, the Radiance of the Sea, was coming to Australia for a 3 month stint beginning November. They knew where Brisbane was, it was one of their ports of call. Oh, and yes, so was Cairns. Disembarking from the ship in Seward Alaska for the two and a half hour bus transfer to Anchorage where we overnighted , Kate and I had a chance to discuss our surprise that our great city was not as well known as expected. Las Vegas was an even bigger shock. Filled with tens of thousands of tourists seeking a good time or instant riches surely someone had heard of us. We struck up dozens of conversations that included those informed folk historians, the cabbies with just one success, a cabbie who had some Aussies as passengers a few weeks ago. The passengers were talking about visiting the Gold Coast on the way home to Geelong. Even then he got it wrong. The cabbie believed the Gold Coast was somewhere in a state called Victoria. Now to be fair, we are not concentrating on the American market. The high Aussie dollar and the 13 hour flight from LAX is daunting. But another surprise was that many we spoke to had Australia on their bucket list. Kangaroos, koalas and Crocodile Dundee were the most mentioned incentives plus they liked us Aussies. If I was asked once more to say "Gidday Mate" I was going to lose it. It can be tough being a self motivated city ambassador. Going over the holiday in my mind I found many lessons that we, as a tourism city could learn from. That started in LAX with more customs, security and immigration checks than one could bear. Another burden that 9/11 has left the free world. 30 hours without sleep and bad, I mean really bad airline food marked our passage to Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is a beautiful city of 3 million inhabitants where the architecture is so different to what we are used too but has a distinctive charm that's easy on the eye. I had decided to spend 3 days here to see what infrastructure the Olympics had bequeathed the city and to experience their light rail system they call Sky Rail. Of course, using that system to go shopping and see parts of the city kept Kate happy so it was both enjoyable and a learning curve at the same time. The first thing that struck us when travelling in Vancouver was that most cars were less than 5 years old and that many of the cabs were hybrids. The city utilized open space with native trees and hanging baskets of flowers that the local government maintained or paid the residents to do so which enriched the streets in a display of vibrant colour. The light rail system was a gem, extremely efficient going through 3 zones for $3.25 per passenger on an all day ticket. The time between trains was 3 minutes so you could travel quickly in air conditioned comfort while watching the traffic held up at the numerous traffic lights. A trip to an outlying shopping centre took 12 minutes by light rail and 35 to 40 minutes by cab. If this was what the Gold Coast could expect in its system then we were indeed fortunate. The shopping center was crowded with what we discovered were foreign students taking advantage of the relatively low cost education facilities unburdened by the restrictive practices the Australian government has placed upon this export industry. They seemed happy in their surroundings and I was left wondering why we in Australia had so misjudged their value both economically and as potential permanent residents that would contribute to our future skills pool. Vancouver is locked into the tourism industry with a well designed and welcoming cruise ship terminal in the center of the city just across the road from the Fairmont Hotel and the convention centre. The terminal is also the staging point for various tours that includes Grouse Mountain just 25 minutes away by bus. A gondola ride to the top of the mountain ends at a lodge where coffee, meals and souvenirs can be purchased. Leaving the lodge on maintained pathways you are led to massive carvings from huge pines depicting local industry and fauna. A little further on, living in a natural habitat bordered by what seems a flimsy electric fence are two orphaned adult grizzly bears, close enough to you so that you can feel the warmth of their breath in the chilled air. Happy snaps were more about focus and controlling shake rather than opportunity. That scene and experience brought back memories of the hard but lost fight to establish a cableway to Springbrook. Having seen the care the rangers took of the environment, how deer walked freely into the area from the surrounding mountains and the constant flow of tourists adding to the economy, it angered me even further that we had missed a similar opportunity. Listening to the various conversations, Canadians and Americans tend to speak loudly, many visitors expressed their delight in experiencing this natural environment and their determination to preserve it. I had to ask myself, what is our problem? Getting aboard the Radiance of the Sea meant another hour or more going through immigration and security but once aboard it was another world, an enclosed community. Our stateroom was equivalent to the finest hotel and the service we would experience for the next 7 days was nothing short of marvelous. The ship was well run with the 900 crew looking after the 2500 passengers. Hygiene was a critical factor, everywhere you went there were antibacterial dispensers and reminders to use them. Any spillage was cleaned up immediately and you didn't have to ask for service, it was offered. If you want to know more about a ship it pays to build relationships with the crew. Dinner with the Captain helps as well, and as chance would have it we were fortunate to be invited to the captains table. Captain Borsheim and his wife proved to be genuinely charming hosts. We learned that the Radiance was coming to Australia and the ship's crew were excited with the opportunity. Naturally the conversation revolved around our culture, sights, experiences and of course a cruise ship terminal for our city. Passionate about having a cruise ship terminal here on the Gold Coast, I requested all the information available regarding environmental issues that could potentially hinder any further attempt to establish one. Captain Borsheim arranged a meeting between his onboard environmental officer Vidar Hagavei and myself. What I learnt would put to rest the concerns of any genuine environmental protectionist. Alaska has some of the most rigid environmental laws on the planet. The state calls itself the Last Frontier and rightly so. The Radiance has won awards for some of its environmental protocols and practices. Subsequent contact with Vidar since our return should result in documentary evidence of these practices and claims. Almost all of our ports of call in Alaska are isolated with no connecting roadways to other areas. Supplies come by barge or air so the reliance on tourism is a critical aspect of the local economy. The weather and seasons play an important part as well with as little as 4 hours of daylight in winter the tourism season is limited to the summer months. Watching passengers and crew from 4 ships descend on a township in a spending frenzy is a mind boggling experience. That's up to 10000 people seeking the dozens of excursions and shopping opportunities available. Anyone claiming that cruise ships don't contribute to the local economy lives in a fools paradise. The only drawback we found was that entering any of the numerous jewellery shops exposed you to a permanent hard sell shadow who wouldn't leave you alone until you were either rudely firm or left the premises. That said, most shops were helpful and the food on offer was excellent. One thing to remember is that all advertised prices do not include tax and there is the practice of tipping to contend with as well so be prepared to spend a few dollars more. The last 4 days of our holiday were spent in Las Vegas. How do you describe this city? Well first it was hot and I am talking of constant temperatures above 40C so air conditioning is a must, not a luxury. Next, the city is over the top, everything is bigger, glitzy, ostentatious and bordering on the unbelievable. We loved it because of just that! It is an unforgettable city. It pains me to say this but the service and better than excellent meals we experienced in Las Vegas made me realize just how much we could learn from this city. If we are to ever breech the American market, these lessons must be taken aboard. To say it was a great holiday would be an understatement but the learning curve was the real bonus. There is so much our city has to offer yet we must improve our service and accept that our customers, the tourists need to leave our city feeling the same way as we did. They will be our best ambassadors abroad. Word of mouth is the greatest form of advertising and in an enclosed environment, cruise ship passengers discuss their previous holidays. We met people who have taken more than 30 cruises and listened to the wonders they were exposed to. I thought, this could be our city they are talking about. And what about our Hinterland, can we learn from Vancouver where they have harnessed the attributes of the natural environment without despoiling it and educating us at the same time? What we experienced is not so much a criticism of our city but an opportunity to do it better and truly place ourselves as a destination of choice on the world stage. Gold Coast, we can do it better. To achieve that status, we must. Bob Janssen President Gold Coast Combined Chamber of Commerce Inc. Media Contact - 0411 741 552 president@gcccc.net

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