Let’s take a trip down memory lane…to the 1980s!
The 1980s saw rapid changes and growth for the Australian tourism industry. Our business was suddenly booming.
Australia, and the Gold Coast in particular, quickly became a tourist destination in the 1980s. It was particularly popular destination for Japanese tourists who started to see Australia as the ‘dream’ honeymoon destination.
Billions of dollars flowed in from Japan in the 1980s following the influx of tourists that we experienced in Australia. This money was used to build famous hotels like the Marriot, Sheraton and the Nara Resort (also known as the Sea World Resort and Waterpark).
There was a bit of friction with the locals, mainly due to a little bit of envy brought on by the fact that Gold Coast was still a developing city with locals who didn’t need much to live their day-to-day lives. These tourists had a lot of money to spend on luxurious items and this was a bit of an unfamiliar territory for many of the locals.
Even the scenery was very different.
Back then, the M1 (the motorway) between Gold Coast and Brisbane only had two lanes. That was all that was really needed at the time. Wild animals like kangaroos could often be seen on these roads. These days, some may even argue that four lanes isn’t enough, and you would very rarely see these animals on the roads.
There were far less tall buildings and apartments.