Everyone is essential: That's the message from the Coolangatta community to the rest of the Queensland.

Two locals have developed an advertising campaign titled Essentially Cooly to get the word out to the masses that the southern Gold Coast is open for business.

"It's a bit of a play on words. We did purposely choose the word 'essential,'" said Coolangatta Surf Club manager Steve Edgar, one half of the team behind the project.  

After seeing the devastation in the community following a meeting of 120 business owners, Gold Coast naturopath Sam Beau Patrick and Mr Edgar decided to make the commercial to put the city back on the map.

"The thing that really resonated with me was the emotional pain," Ms Beau Patrick said.

"Grown men crying, women breaking down saying: 'I've got to turn staff away'.

"I was very moved, to say the least, and felt some action had to be done."

Ms Beau Patrick says the advertising campaign is designed to encourage Gold Coast locals and Queenslanders who have an "affinity" for Coolangatta to support the local community.

She says locals want the suburb's village feel not to become known for "Griffith Gaza Strip" – referring to the border checkpoints that are set up in Griffith Street.

"It's actually almost like a humanitarian rescue effort, to be honest.

"So, that's the message everyone's essential."

The video, which launched on Monday morning, featured surfing greats Mark 'Occy' Occhilupo, Joel Parkinson, Steph Gilmore and Mick Fanning. 

Calls for help

Mr Edgar says some businesses are at breaking point. 

"It's desperate," he said.

"I've spoken to some of the accommodation providers and they haven't had one person book in August," he said.

Tourists from Sydney and Melbourne are locked out and half of the local clientele are stuck on the other side of the hard border.   

"Coolangatta is a tourist town but when it's not a tourist town it relies on locals," Mr Edgar said. 

"We've had 60 per cent of our locals cut off from us."

Mr Edgar says while they hope the video increases visitation, what the area really needs is emergency funding.

Discussions between the Queensland and New South Wales governments are underway to change arrangements for border communities. 

The promotional video will be rolled out on social media and other advertising channels. 

Destination Gold Coast chief executive Patricia O’Callaghan says the city "will remain one of the hardest-hit tourism destinations in Australia".

"Traditionally, the southern Gold Coast is an interconnected community but the reality is that these local operators are fighting for their livelihoods without access to their skilled workforce and [with] loss of visitation," she said. 

"Essentially Cooly is locally produced by Southern Gold Coast businesses.