The Gold Coast on the Australian state of Queensland is one of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations, offering sun. sea, sand, surfing and night life. Most people have heard of “Surfer’s Paradise,” one of Gold Coast City’s most popular surfing beaches. The City offers 57 kilometers of coastline with some of the most popular surfing beaches in the world. There are also dozens of beaches on the Gold Coast’s tidal waterways. Surfers Paradise offers more than just surfing though – including an open-air beach cinema during the Easter vacation with 6 nights of free movies.

The Gold Coast attracts more than 10 million visitors yearly, although many of these are domestic rather than international tourists despite the fact that the local airport has flights from all the major carriers. Tourism provides more than 25% of the local employment and brings in over $4 billion annually and there is no shortage of websites offering cheap Gold Coast accommodation.

No doubt the water is one of the main attractions and many homes are situated on the canal frontages with pontoons., but the region also has an interesting National Park situated in the “Great dividing range,” a mountain range which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for it’s “outstanding geological features displayed around shield volcanic craters and the high number of rare and threatened rainforest species.”

So, if 40 straight kilometers of hotel complexes and sun soaked surfers partying ‘till the small hours of the morning is not your thing, there are plenty of alternatives to be had. Not forgetting the bikini-clad meter maids in Surfer’s Paradise. Presumably an attempt to take the sting out of parking tickets which is another major income producer for the city.

One thing that many non-Australians do not know is that Gold Coast is one of Australia’s film production centers, and accounts for over 75% of Queensland’s film production including the Aussie equivalent of Big Brother.

The Gold Coast Indy 300 is held here in October along with a number of other street races and there are dozens of carnivals and festivals held year round. The weather is sunny, subtropical, which no doubt accounts for the popularity with beach goers. Unfortunately, the Gold Coast beaches have been eroding quite severely and a number of emergency measures have been implemented, much to the dismay of environmental groups who prefer to leave things as natural as possible. The arguments continue, but the tourist dollars are compelling arguments so no doubt that will take precedence.

Other claims to fame include the Q1 building, the world’s highest residential tower which claims the title of the “second highest public vantage point in the southern hemisphere,” and a number of world-renowned theme parks including Sea World and Warner Brothers.