Operator News
Australia – Star goes all in with $2bn investment approval in Queensland
By Phil - 5 November 2018
The Queensland Government’s approval of The Star Entertainment Group’s masterplan could trigger a further $2bn-plus investment into tourism assets at The Star Gold Coast.
The mega masterplan would see The Star Gold Coast boast more tourism accommodation than any other resort in Australia. At around 3000 hotel rooms and apartments, it would also exceed what the world-renowned Marina Bay Sands in Singapore offers, and be on a scale similar to the largest integrated resorts in Las Vegas.
The Star has also committed to delivering the investments with no extra poker machines.
Matt Bekier, Managing Director and CEO of The Star Entertainment Group, said: “This would be a project of incredible scale, delivering substantial economic benefit to the State from jobs and increased tourism visitation.”
The iconic Broadbeach property has already undertaken recent significant transformation with: completion of The Darling hotel; full refurbishment of the 596-room The Star Grand hotel; 11 new food and beverage outlets including signature and award-winning restaurants; and works underway on the Dorsett hotel and apartments tower, due for completion in 2022.
The newly-approved masterplan – proposed by The Star and its Hong Kong-based partners, Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium – allows for: more accommodation (hotels and apartments) across a further four towers; exciting new restaurant and bar precincts; increased entertainment and retail options; and lush new resort facilities.
The proposal to significantly expand an already transformed The Star Gold Coast, together with construction underway at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, would give The Star and its partners two iconic properties to drive networked tourism outcomes for South East Queensland.
The approved masterplan concept for The Star Gold Coast provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for tourism in South East Queensland.
If delivered in full, the masterplan will increase the value of tourism investments across Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, The Star Gold Coast and the Sheraton Grand Mirage to around $9bn.
The ongoing transformation undertaken by The Star and its partners on the Gold Coast alone will create more than $4.3 billion in tourism assets – that number including the replacement value of the original Broadbeach property and the Sheraton Grand Mirage.
The approved masterplan at the Gold Coast also enables The Star and its partners to create, with a second world-class global tourism destination, a complementary property to the integrated resort already under construction at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane.
Both properties will be showcased to attract visitors to uniquely Queensland experiences – one in an urban environment, the other in a more laidback coastal setting. In tandem, they can drive significant tourism outcomes for the SEQ region.
The Star is also building strong relationships with other tourism operators. The aim is to package the collective strength of the region into a consolidated super ‘must-see’ destination. It will encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more.
Further, The Star looks forward to working with tourism bodies on ways to help disperse tourists to other Queensland destinations, creating even further upside for regional areas and the State economy.
This approach is based on research commissioned by Tourism Events Queensland and released in October 2018. The research outlined how promoting SEQ tourism experiences in a collaborative rather than competitive manner could enable up to $20bn in latent international visitation expenditure by 2030.
