Completed construction of Kirra Groyne Helipad offers tourism boost to Gold Coast

The latest development to occur in the Gold Coast is the construction of the Kirra Groyne Helipad, which has officially completed and will be utilised to help boost the booming tourism industry in the Gold Coast. Continued development of infrastructure and Surfers Paradise commercial property like this is an important aspect of the area's growth heading into the future – especially with the importance of tourism as an economic driver in the Surfers Paradise. 

City of Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the Kirra Groyne Helipad would add another dimension to the city's tourism industry, offering a new way for people to see the south east Queensland region. 

"This is about giving our visitors something different, a new experience to add to the smorgasbord of fun on the menu. Tourism directly contributed $4.7 billion to the Gold Coast economy and sustained more than 30,000 direct jobs in the city in 2013," said Mayor Tate in an 18 December statement. 

"However, our Destination Tourism Management Plan highlights the need for us to bring new tourism products and experiences to the table if we are to achieve our goal of doubling visitor expenditure by 2020," said Mayor Tate.

There has already been a strong interest expressed by certain groups throughout the area to use the Kirra Groyne Helipad – including the Cooly Rocks On festival, which is a 50s and 60s based nostalgia festival that offers up servings of rock​ 'n' roll, swing and rockabilly over the borders of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads annually. 

New television filming projects expected in the Gold Coast

Furthermore, the local state economy is anticipating boosts from the various television shows being filmed in the Gold Coast in the near future. Arts minister Ian Walker said three new shows are expected to bring over 500 jobs to the area and inject a huge amount of economic stimuli into the local commercial landscape. 

Mr Walker stated that while there was a downturn in massive productions between 2009/10 and 2011/12, the screen industry is beginning to rediscover the Gold Coast, aiming to boost the strength of the economy and provide a huge number of employment opportunities in the coming months. 

"Screen Queensland is investing about $1.5 million into these three new TV productions, which are expected to reap returns of about $10.9 million in Queensland production expenditure to the state's economy and create hundreds of jobs," said Mr Walker in a 16 December statement. 

"We're delivering on our commitment to attract and support more TV productions in Queensland, sustaining a vibrant screen industry and ensuring that our technicians, crew and talent remain in Queensland." 

Not only this, but the latest installation of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is being filmed in part in the Gold Coast next year as well. Premier Campbell Newman said the film will bring around $100 million into the local economy – not to mention create thousands of jobs. 

There are already hundreds of people in the south east Queensland area working on the early stages of the film, with the process of organising all the appropriate approvals and permits for the streamlined filming of the new film being taken care of at the moment. 

With the goal to have these permits organised by the end of January, filming could be expected to start in the early months of 2015. 

These projects could be great for anyone looking to purchase their own commercial real estate in Surfers Paradise. With the increasing strength of the economy and the possibility of getting into the market well ahead of the area's explosive growth, consider making moves into the local community.