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New themes in urban development, cultural and aesthetic production, leisure services, entertainment provision and consumption emerged from the 1970s. The rapid growth of the tourism and travel industry has propelled this trend with consequences for urban forms. Entire cities have developed, based on cultural and leisure activities, into specialized spaces which provide goods and services focusing on entertainment and fun; representing cities built for tourists. Termed tourism urbanization, this is revolutionary in the history of urbanization and is accompanied with a number of spatial, social, and cultural consequences. Against this background the following work investigates the urban phenomenon of the tourist city on the study area, the city of the Gold Coast. Analyses of economic and demographic data, examinations of the urban formation and interviews with local residents and visitors help to better understand the consequences of an urban development centred on tourism.

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Saskia Klöffel studied Geography at the Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg, Germany. She volunteered as a park ranger for the Department of Conservation in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. Saskia has a Graduate Diploma of Education from Griffith University and works as a teacher in Queensland, Australia.

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