Over the next three weeks, around 30,000 teenagers will go to the Gold Coast to unwind from the stress of exams.
School leaver Salma Abdel Fateh won’t be there. She’s part of a growing number of teens choosing to celebrate schoolies a little differently.
Salma’s family have planned a surprise party to mark the milestone and may take her overseas. And she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Related: Emergency services brace for Schoolies onslaught
“All my friends are Muslim like me, so schoolies isn’t really a thing for us.”
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Spending time with family and friends is how she likes to celebrate special occasions.
“That’s what it’s all about for me.”
Martin and Justin Abeleda are going to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast with friends.
Martin says the family’s cultural background had a key role to play in their plans.
“Well, definitely coming from a Filipino background, our parents obviously had a chat to us going to the Gold Coast,” Martin Abeleda said. “There’s definitely a difference in the understanding of say the drinking culture in Australia.”
Schoolies has changed from the days when it started in the 1970s.
It is now a multi-million dollar corporate event that has expanded overseas and is providing options for kids who want a different schoolies experience.
Jot Lyans from schoolies travel group Unleashed Travel says many school leavers are opting for a different experience to the traditional schoolies celebration.
“We saw some feedback from our past travellers where they rated going to bars and drinking alcohol quite low on the rankings compared with hanging out with friends and enjoying the DJs,” Lyans said.
This year, Unleashed Travel is hosting an alcohol-free schoolies holiday in Vanuatu.
“We weren’t sure how it was going to sell, and it sold out within a couple of months.”
Lyans said tickets for the trip on Hideaway Island sold quicker than its other overseas trips.
For now, schoolies on the Gold Coast remains the most popular destination.
There will be 300 Queensland police officers patrolling schoolies hot spots over the next three weeks.
“If you’re coming to schoolies to be violent or to exert some sort of threatening behaviour then you’ll be dealt with in the full force of the law,” said acting chief superintendent for the Gold Coast, Des Lacy.
The Gold Coast Schoolies Advisory Group chairman, Mark Reaburn, is also reminding teens to look after each other during their holiday.
“Be safe, watch your mates. That’s really the key message for us. Whether it’s in the units, on the balconies or walking the streets of Surfers Paradise the message is exactly the same.”
