Condominium developments in maturing destinations: potentials and problems of long-term sustainability

Abstract

Since the emergence of mass tourism, destinations are constantly faced with the challenge of providing an adequate supply of suitable accommodation. The introduction of condominium style accommodation seemed to be the answer to the problem of meeting the increasing tourism demand at some popular destinations, although in some destinations investment in property development has increasingly become a supply driven activity. However, the resulting complexities brought about by the many stakeholders involved in managing the condominiums (including strata title legislation, investment incentives, and long-term maintenance of condominium developments) have introduced previously unforeseen problems to destinations reaching maturity. This study investigates the impacts of the growth of condominium developments and their potential for inhibiting destination rejuvenation. The study was conducted on Australia's Gold Coast, a classic example of a mass tourism resort where ironically, the growth of condominium style accommodation was a major factor in attracting large numbers of tourists, but may, in fact, prevent successful rejuvenation in the future