By Jonathan DeHart
Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s
best-known stretches of sand and Sydney’s third most visited spot, is about to
become a lot greener. On Tuesday the Waverly Council unveiled an ambitious
ten-year blueprint to replace the concrete aspects of the iconic spot with
grass, trees and structures for shade. In particular, the areas of the swaths
of the beach currently dedicated to parking will take on more natural contours.
"Just to spruce it up, can you
imagine not having cars?" said Waverly mayor Sally Betts.
New parking areas would be built out
of sight in multi-level underground garages. Meanwhile, above ground, large
areas would become pedestrian-only, including a new boardwalk. Toilets,
playgrounds and fitness equipment will be upgraded, alongside a skate park and
cafes with views of the surf.
Leading up to the beach, a
tree-lined boulevard will funnel sun lovers to the beach entrance via the Bondi
Pavilion, an arts and culture space built during the early 20th
century that once housed a ballroom and Turkish baths, which will be restored
to its former glory. The beach will also become more fun, with volleyball –
previously banned – approved at its south end.
“We were conscious of preserving
Bondi's heritage and character while finding ways to enhance and boost its
cultural vitality,” said Betts, who touted the new vision for Bondi –
open to public comment until the end of May – as “the biggest change ever” for
the one-kilometer sliver of coastline. Betts added, “There are more people coming to
Bondi all the time.”
Indeed, there are. At present, Bondi
lures some 50,000 visitors on an average summer day and 1.8 million people
yearly (some estimates say 2.2 million). Among those who come to splash in the
water and soak up the sun, 1.1 million come from overseas. About half of all visitors to Sydney make the
pilgrimage to the beach.
Ranking in popularity only behind
the city’s famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Bondi (an Aboriginal word
referring to the sound of breaking waves) has a history of charming visitors.
Over time it has amassed a certain cache, conjuring images of surfboards, BBQ
and nightlife – an image that has been used to great effect in tourism efforts.
While a healthy flow of tourist
traffic comes from the United States and Britain, there is a more significant
trend worth noting: the visitors to Bondi are increasingly Chinese, who are
flocking to the beach in droves – a fact well noted by the Australian
government.
In 2012, Chinese visitors to
Australia were triple the level of a decade ago, growing 16 percent on year to account for nearly
630,000 of Australia’s six million overseas arrivals – second only to New
Zealand – according to statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This is only the beginning. Last year, Chinese officially surpassed German and
American tourists as the biggest spenders on tourism, with 83 million people
spending a total of U.S. $102 billion on overseas travel. By 2015, a report by
the UN suggests, 100 million Chinese will go on holiday overseas.
In an effort to lure as much of this
traffic as possible to Australia, still fresh from rubbing elbows with Xi
Jinping last month, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the
A$1.75 million “G’Day China” campaign in Shanghai. The effort
will effectively be a A$175 million crusade to woo Chinese travelers in 2014.
Judging from the last such campaign, “G’Day USA” – which had celebrities like
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman on board – the China push will be executed with
style and panache.
Campaign or not, Australia won’t
have to work too hard. The country seems ready made for Chinese travelers. In
the Visa PATA Travel Intention Survey, aimed at finding out what Chinese
tourists crave most, three things came to the fore: “natural scenery, sunshine and beaches.” It sounds
like Bondi’s makeover is coming just in time.
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