8634.0 - Tourism Indicators, Australia, Jun 2002  
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  • A profile of two tourism regions: The Gold Coast and The Sunshine Coast (Feature Article)

This article was published in Tourism Indicators, Australia, June 2002 (ABS Cat. No. 8634.0).

INTRODUCTION

The Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are among the most popular tourism destinations in Australia. In Travel by Australians 2001: Annual results of the National Visitor Survey (2002), the Bureau of Tourism Research ranked Tourism Regions according to the number of overnight visitors in 2001. The Gold Coast ranked fourth of all Tourism Regions visited by Australian residents aged 15 years and over (with around 3.5m overnight visitors to this region, or 5% of all overnight visitors). The Sunshine Coast ranked tenth (with about 2.2m overnight visitors or 3% of all overnight visitors).

This article uses data from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing and the latest available tourist accommodation data to profile the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. The data presented include the state of usual residence and birthplace of residents in the regions on Census Night, together with characteristics of overseas visitors in these two regions. Tourist accommodation data, including capacity, occupancy, guest arrivals, average length of stay and takings from accommodation, are also used.

The Gold Coast is located along the southern coastline of Queensland and features beaches and beach front centres such as Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Mermaid Beach, Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta. It includes inland areas such as Beaudesert and Labrador. The Sunshine Coast is situated north of Brisbane. It includes Noosa, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Caloundra.

The regions selected for this article are just two of the geographic areas for which data are available. One of the important aspects of both the Census of Population and Housing and the Survey of Tourist Accommodation is that they can be used to describe the characteristics of small geographic areas and small population groups. Regional data are used by government and private sectors to assist with planning and the provision of services. In terms of business opportunities and market research, these data can also be used to help identify and analyse the demographics of a particular location.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF PEOPLE IN THE GOLD COAST AND THE SUNSHINE COAST TOURISM REGIONS

The following Census data have been aggregated to the Gold Coast Tourism Region (TR) and the Sunshine Coast TR. The Statistical Local Areas that comprise these regions are specified in the appendix to this article, which also includes a map of Tourism Regions in Queensland.

Basic counts

On Census Night, 7 August 2001, 3,655,139 people were enumerated in Queensland (of these, 69,500 were overseas visitors). This represents 19.3% of all people counted in Australia on Census Night.

Including overseas visitors, there were 494,976 people in the Gold Coast TR (13.5% of people counted in Queensland).

There were 252,011 people in the Sunshine Coast TR (6.9%).

There were 397,514 people aged 15 years and over (80.3%) in the Gold Coast TR. About the same percentage were aged 15 years and older in the Sunshine Coast TR (201,675 people or 80.0%) and in Queensland (2,884,181 people or 78.9%).

There were 71,625 people (14.5%) in the 65 and over age group in the Gold Coast TR. A greater proportion of people were aged 65 years and older in the Sunshine Coast TR (44,429 people or 17.6%). The percentage of people in this age group was lower in Queensland (by 2.2 percentage points compared to the Gold Coast TR and 5.3 percentage points compared to the Sunshine Coast TR.)

Most people were enumerated in private dwellings (96.6% in the Gold Coast TR, and 97.6% in the Sunshine Coast TR). Almost the same percentage were in this group in Queensland (96.1%).

In the Gold Coast TR, 16,801 people (3.4%) were 'enumerated elsewhere'. This group includes people in non-private dwellings (hotels, motels, guest houses, prisons, hospitals, etc.) and migratory people (those counted on an overnight journey by plane, train or bus). About the same proportion of people were enumerated elsewhere in the Sunshine Coast TR (5,925 people or 2.4%) and in Queensland (143,787 people or 3.9%).

There were 5,624 people who identified as being of Indigenous (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) origin in the Gold Coast TR. This represents 1.2% of people counted in that region, excluding overseas visitors. A similar percentage of people identified as being of Indigenous origin in the Sunshine Coast TR, (2,762 people). In Queensland, 112,772 people were in this group (3.1% of people, excluding overseas visitors).

Overseas visitors

The Census allows the identification of people who are usually resident in another country. An overseas visitor is any person who stated that he or she would be in Australia for less than 12 months. Standard Census products present limited variables for overseas visitors, namely: age, sex and marital status.

On 7 August 2001, there were 15,701 overseas visitors in the Gold Coast TR (3.2% of people enumerated in that region) and 5,422 overseas visitors in Sunshine Coast TR (2.2%). These proportions were greater in these regions than for both Queensland and Australia. The 69,500 overseas visitors enumerated in Queensland represented 1.9% of people counted in that state and the 203,101 overseas visitors in Australia represented 1.1% of people counted in the nation.

In the Gold Coast TR, more overseas visitors were female (8,329 or 53.0% of overseas visitors in that region) than male (7,372 or 47.0%). This was also the case in the Sunshine Coast TR (2,983 females or 55.0% of overseas visitors, and 2,439 males or 45.0%).

Graph F1.1 presents overseas visitors (aged 15 years and older) by age group for both regions.

Almost one-third of overseas visitors in the Gold Coast TR were in the 25-44 age group (4,388 or 32.6% of overseas visitors aged 15 years and older in that region), followed by the 45-64 age group (3,549 or 26.4%) and the 15-24 age group (3,028 or 22.5%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, overseas visitors tended to be older than those in the Gold Coast TR, with 29.4% (1,396) aged 65 years and over. There were 1,322 overseas visitors aged 45-64 years (27.8%) and 1,044 overseas visitors in the 25-44 age group (22.0%).

F1.1 OVERSEAS VISITORS (AGED 15 YEARS AND OLDER) BY AGE

Australian state of usual residence on Census Night

This variable refers to the place in Australia where a person usually lives, rather than the place where they were counted on Census Night. Census counts compiled on this basis are less likely to be influenced by seasonal factors such as school holidays and snow seasons, and provide information about the usual residents of an area.

Most people in the two regions were counted at home. There were 442,327 people in this group in the Gold Coast TR (92.3% of people, excluding overseas visitors) and 224,858 people (91.2%) in the Sunshine Coast TR. A similar proportion of people in Queensland were counted at home on Census Night (93.7%).

Graph F1.2 presents the state of usual residence on Census Night (excluding overseas visitors and people counted at home) of people enumerated in the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast TRs. Over 90% of these domestic visitors in both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast were counted in a different Statistical Local Area (rather than the same Statistical Local Area).

In the Gold Coast TR, most people counted in a different Statistical Local Area listed Victoria as their usual state of residence (12,018 people or 34.0%). This was followed by Queensland (11,022 people or 31.2%) and New South Wales (7,758 people or 21.9%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, Queensland was the state of usual residence with the most responses (7,815 people or 38.1%), then Victoria (6,484 people or 31.6%) and New South Wales (3,794 people or 18.5%).
F1.2 STATE OF USUAL RESIDENCE ON CENSUS NIGHT (a)


Birthplace

Most people enumerated in the two regions were born in Australia. In the Gold Coast TR, 335,922 people (70.1% of people excluding overseas visitors) were born in Australia, while in the Sunshine Coast TR, 191,897 people (77.8%) were Australian-born. Similarly, for Queensland, 77.7% of people were in this group.

Graphs F1.3 and F1.4 present the top 10 countries of birth (excluding Australia) for persons enumerated in the two regions (excluding overseas visitors).

The top five countries of birth were the same for both regions. As shown below, in the Gold Coast TR, 33,469 people were born in the United Kingdom (7.0%), 31,319 in New Zealand (6.5%), 3,564 in Germany (0.7%), 2,821 in the Netherlands (0.6%) and 2,556 in South Africa (0.5%).
F1.3 TOP 10 COUNTRIES OF BIRTH (a), Persons (b) in Gold Coast TR

As shown in graph F1.4, in the Sunshine Coast TR, 17,103 people were born in the United Kingdom (6.9% of people excluding overseas visitors). There were 10,201 people (4.1%) born in New Zealand, a smaller proportion than that of the Gold Coast TR.

Germany was the country of birth for 2,065 people (0.8%), followed by the Netherlands (1,635 people or 0.7%) and South Africa (1,002 people or 0.4%).

In Queensland, the top four countries of birth (excluding Australia) were the same as in these Tourism Regions. However, the country with fifth greatest responses was Italy rather than South Africa (which ranked seventh).
F1.4 TOP 10 COUNTRIES OF BIRTH (a), Persons (b) in Sunshine Coast TR

TOURIST ACCOMMODATION

This section provides the latest available data (June quarter 2002) for tourist accommodation in the Gold Coast TR and the Sunshine Coast TR. Data relate to hotels, motels (including guest houses) and serviced apartment establishments with 15 or more rooms or units.

Establishments and capacity

In the June quarter 2002, there were 147 hotels, motels (and guest houses) and serviced apartments in the Gold Coast TR (15.2% of total establishments in Queensland).

There were 101 total establishments in the Sunshine Coast TR (10.4%).

Graph F1.5 shows the number of establishments in the two regions by accommodation type.

There were 80 serviced apartments in the Gold Coast TR (54.4% of all accommodation types), 40 motels (27.2%) and 27 licensed hotels (18.4%). Compared to the Gold Coast TR, a greater proportion of total establishments in the Sunshine Coast TR were serviced apartments. The Sunshine Coast had 71 serviced apartments (70.3%), 21 motels (20.8%) and nine licensed hotels (8.9%).
F1.5 HOTELS, MOTELS AND GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS-Establishments-June quarter 2002


Graph F1.6 presents the number of guest rooms of these establishments available in the two regions.

Guest rooms are the maximum number of rooms available at each establishment during the survey period for accommodating short-term paying guests. Units and apartments within serviced apartments are treated as rooms.

Nearly half of all guest rooms in the Gold Coast TR were in licensed hotels (6,399 rooms or 49.1% of all accommodation types). There were 4,740 rooms in serviced apartments (36.4%) and 1,889 rooms in motels (14.5%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, there were 3,322 rooms in serviced apartments (71.1% of rooms in accommodation types in that region). The number of rooms in other accommodation types was not published due to confidentiality issues.

There were a total of 52,827 guest rooms available in Queensland in the June quarter 2002. The Gold Coast TR accounted for 13,028 rooms (24.7%) and the Sunshine Coast TR provided 4,670 rooms (8.8%) of the Queensland total.
F1.5 HOTELS, MOTELS,GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS,-Guest Rooms-June quarter 2002


Occupancy

Graph F1.7 shows room nights occupied and guest nights in the two regions in the June quarter 2002.

Room nights occupied are the total number of nights each guest room or unit was occupied during the survey period. 'Guest nights' refers to the total number of paying guests counted on each night they stayed at the accommodation establishment during the survey period. In this section, data have been rounded to the nearest 100.

There were 326,100 room nights occupied in licensed hotels in the Gold Coast TR (48.7% of all room nights occupied in that region). The next greatest number of room nights occupied was in serviced apartments (248,500 room nights occupied or 37.1%). There were 94,500 room nights occupied in motels (14.1%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, about 70% of all room nights occupied were in serviced apartments (139,200 room nights occupied).

There were about 640,000 guest nights in both licensed hotels and serviced apartments in the Gold Coast TR. This represents 43.0% of all guest nights in each case. Motels recorded the smallest number with 207,300 guest nights (13.9%).

There were 361,700 guest nights in serviced apartments in the Sunshine Coast TR (74.9% of all guest nights in that region).

Total room nights occupied in the Gold Coast TR accounted for 24.8% of total room nights occupied and 28.8% of total guest nights in Queensland. The Sunshine Coast held a smaller percentage of occupancy (7.3% of room nights occupied in Queensland and 9.3% guest nights occupied).
F1.7 HOTELS,MOTELS, GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS-Occupancy-June quarter 2002

Graph F1.8 presents occupancy rates for tourist accommodation. Occupancy rates are occupancy expressed as a percentage of the total capacity available for the period.

In the June quarter 2002, the room occupancy rate for total accommodation types was 56.4% in the Gold Coast TR (0.2 percentage points higher than in Queensland). Room occupancy rates by accommodation type ranged from 55.0% for motels to 56.0% for licensed hotels and 57.6% for serviced apartments.

In the Sunshine Coast TR, room occupancy rates were 46.1% for serviced apartments and 46.5% for all accommodation types.

Bed occupancy rates were generally lower than room occupancy rates. At the total level, the bed occupancy rate was 38.6% in the Gold Coast TR and 32.9% in the Sunshine Coast TR. The bed occupancy rate for total accommodation types for Queensland was 34.9%.
F1.8 HOTELS, MOTELS,GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS,-Occupancy Rates-June quarter 2002


Guest arrivals

Guest arrivals are the total number of paying guests counted only on the first night they stayed at the accommodation establishment during the survey period.

The number of guest arrivals are provided in graph F1.9. Data have been rounded to the nearest 100.

There were 457,500 total guest arrivals in the Gold Coast TR in the June quarter 2002 (23.5% of guest arrivals for Queensland). There was a smaller proportion of guest arrivals in the Sunshine Coast TR (155,500 arrivals or 8.0% of guest arrivals for Queensland).

Over half of all guest arrivals in the Gold Coast TR were in licensed hotels (250,300 arrivals or 54.7%). This was followed by 146,800 guest arrivals in serviced apartments (32.1%) and 60,400 guest arrivals in motels (13.2%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, two thirds of guest arrivals were in serviced apartments (103,600 arrivals).
F1.9 HOTELS, MOTELS,GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS, Guest arrivals-June quarter 2002


Average length of stay

Graph F1.10 presents the average length of stay in both the Gold Coast TR and the Sunshine Coast TR. Data are expressed in numbers of days and calculated by dividing guest nights by guest arrivals.

In the June quarter 2002, the greatest average length of stay of all accommodation types was in serviced apartments in the Gold Coast TR (4.4 days) and in the Sunshine Coast TR (3.5 days).

The average length of stay for all accommodation types was 3.3 days in the Gold Coast TR (0.6 days more than in Queensland) and 3.1 in the Sunshine Coast TR (0.4 days more than Queensland).
F1.10 HOTELS,MOTELS, GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS, Average length of stay-June quarter 2002


Takings from accommodation

Since 1 July 2000, takings from accommodation include gross revenue from the provision of accommodation, including the Goods and Services Tax. Takings from meals are excluded.

Graph F1.11 presents takings by accommodation type for both regions.

In the June quarter 2002, takings from all accommodation types were $69.1m in the Gold Coast TR (24.5% of takings in Queensland) and $21.9m in the Sunshine Coast TR (7.7%).

In the Gold Coast TR, most takings were generated from hotels ($40.5m or 58.6% of total takings), followed by serviced apartments ($21.2m or 30.6%) and motels ($7.4m or 10.8%).

In the Sunshine Coast TR, takings from accommodation in serviced apartments were $15.2m or 69.6% of total takings.
F1.11 HOTELS, MOTELS, GUEST HOUSES AND SERVICED APARTMENTS, Takings from accommodation-June quarter 2002


FURTHER INFORMATION

This article provides examples of some of the information that is available for Tourism Regions and other geographic levels (such as Statistical Local Areas). Many more variables describing the population of these areas are available, including age, sex, income levels, marital status and family type.

Census data used in this article were obtained from first release Basic Community Profiles (BCPs). BCPs are free of charge on the ABS web site down to the Statistical Local Area geographic level and are available for purchase for Collection Districts (the smallest available geographic level). These products comprise 21 tables containing the key characteristics of persons, families and dwellings. Second release BCPs, due for release in November 2002, will comprise 12 additional tables, including industry by age by sex of employed persons, and occupation by age by sex.

Census Snapshots, which present information in a narrative format, are free of charge on the ABS web site at the Australia, state/territory, Capital City Statistical Division, and Statistical Local Area geographic levels.

A range of other regional data are available, including regional statistics compendium publications published under cat. no. 1362, followed by the appropriate state/territory trailing character. These annual publications present summary demographic, economic, social and environmental statistics for geographic areas such as Local Government Areas, Statistical Districts and Statistical Divisions. Data may include: population, births, deaths, building approvals, agriculture, retail turnover, industry, education and training, health, labour force, wages and prices, local government finance, overseas trade, tourism, transport, and environmental protection and assets statistics.

For more information, please refer to the ABS web site <http:\\www.abs.gov.au> or contact the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.


APPENDIX: COMPOSITION OF THE GOLD COAST AND SUNSHINE COAST TOURISM REGIONS

CONCORDANCE BETWEEN STATISTICAL LOCAL AREAS (SLAs) OF THE AUSTRALIAN STANDARD GEOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION (2001 EDITION) AND TOURISM REGIONS

Gold Coast Tourism Region

SLA

Beaudesert (Shire)
Part A 305150552
Part B 310200557
Gold Cost (City) - Part A
Beenleigh305103461
Bethania-Waterford305103463
Eagleby305103466
Edens Landing-Holmview305103471
Mt Warren Park 305103476
Windaroo-Bannockburn305103494
Balance in BSD305103496
Gold Coast (City) - Part B
Arundel 310053497
Ashmore310053501
Benowa310053504
Biggera Waters 310053507
Bilinga310053512
Broadbeach310053513
Broadbeach Waters 310053515
Bundall 310053517
Burleigh Heads310053521
Burleigh Waters310053523
Carrara-Merrimac310053525
Coolangatta310053527
Coombabah310053531
Coomera-Cedar Creek 310053532
Currumbin 310053533
Currumbin Waters310053535
Elanora 310053537
Ernest-Molendinar310053541
Guanaba-Currumbin Valley 310053542
Helensvale 310053543
Hollywell310053545
Hope Island310053547
Labrador 310053553
Main Beach-Broadwater310053555
Mermaid Beach310053557
Mermaid Waters-Clear Island Waters310053562
Miami310053563
Mudgeeraba310053565
Nerang310053567
Oxenford310053571
Palm Beach310053573
Paradise Point310053575
Parkwood310053577
Robina 310053582
Runaway Bay 310053583
Southport310053585
Stephens310053586
Surfers Paradise310053587
Tugun310053591
Worongary-Tallai310053593


Sunshine Coast Tourism Region

SLA

Caloundra (City)
Caloundra N. 310152132
Caloundra S.310152133
Hinterland 310202136
Kawana 310152135
Rail Corridor310202138
Maroochy (Shire)
Buderim 310154902
Coastal North310154905
Maroochydore 310154907
Mooloolaba310154911
Nambour310154914
Balance in S Coast SSD 310154917
Balance 310204918
Noosa (Shire)
Noosa-Noosaville 310155752
Sunshine-Peregian310155755
Tewantin310155756
Balance310205758


Tourism Regions,Queensland - 2001

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