Paper short abstract:

On the Gold Coast, surfing contributes both to promote tourism and to bolsters the claim for a local cultural identity. Local surfers idealize the Ocean as a place where escaping the consumeristic lifestyle of the city. Thus, the unruled urban development of the city struggles to affect the Ocean

Paper long abstract:

The Gold Coast is a beautiful tourist region in Queensland, and one of Australia’s fastest growing cities. Here, residents are trying to affirm a cultural identity that overcomes the view of the city as a frivolous touristic resort. Interestingly, surfing plays a significant role in both these processes. In fact, while it contributes to promote tourism – corroborating the image of the Gold Coast as a “paradise on Earth” – it also bolsters the mentioned claim for a local, specific way of living. In fact, even if surfing here is part of a late-capitalist and consumeristic economy, for participants it also represents a neo-Romantic way of escaping the illusive promises and the chaotic life of the city – whose flashy skyline remains visible from the surfing line-ups. Through a dualistic conceptualization between the city (seen as an epitome of contemporary civilization/culture) and the sea (“nature”), the Ocean becomes for surfers a place where recovering an intimate, authentic relationship with nature and their own selves. This induces a protective attitude towards the Ocean and stimulates environmental awareness among the local surfing population. Consequently, the “unplanned” development that has characterized this “hyper-neoliberal city” (Bosman et al. 2016) struggles to be extended to the Ocean. This leads the local institutions, politicians and stakeholders to consider the surfers’ voice and to actively involve them in the coastal management policies – e.g. in the Surf Management Plan launched in 2015, that “seeks to balance the interests of all beach and ocean users” (especially surfers).