Overview
Next time Queenslanders are grabbing their towels, sunnies and surfboards to head to the beach, they might want to bring a taste for cocktails as well. The folks at the Gold Coast City Council are contemplating opening up their sunshine-strewn stretches of shoreline to commercial enterprises — meaning bars and eateries.
Yes, European-style beachside relaxing is on the agenda at South-East Queensland's coastal hotspot. Sticking your feet in the sand, staring out at the lapping waves and sipping on whatever icy, alcoholic concoction takes your fancy — as delivered to your reclining deckchair, we hope — just might soon become a reality if this Council proposal goes through.
There's a few ideas being bandied about for the commercial offerings allowed to take up beachside residencies. Offering umbrellas for hire and allowing food to be delivered to sunbakers are among the ideas being floated, as well as using the oceanfront expanse for a wide range of organised events. Whether the likes of live entertainment, DJs and dance parties, and inevitably celebrity-filled shindigs will follow is yet to be seen. This being the so-called Glitter Strip, however, they're certainly a possibility.
The Council is expected to consider the plan in October, with tourism at the top of their minds. When it comes to enticing more visitors, the move might give Brisbanites the motivation to head down the highway for a Gold Coast getaway a bit more often, as well as enticing more interstate travellers up north to Queensland's sunny climate.
Via The Courier-Mail.