Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has spent recent months learning to dive so he could officially open the region's newest tourist attraction.

Building up his confidence in a swimming pool before progressing to the ocean, Cr Tate cut an underwater ribbon at the city's new artificial dive site Wonder Reef earlier this week.

Cr Tate said he had been diving two to three times a week in preparation.

He was joined in the dive by Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles before Wonder Reef opened to commercial visits from June 8.

"I would call this a theme park underwater, it's Gold Coast style," Cr Tate said.

The $5 million attraction was funded equally by the Gold Coast City Council and the state government.

The reef will sit about 2.5 kilometres offshore from The Spit at Main Beach and was expected to attract more than 16,000 diving enthusiasts to the Gold Coast each year.

"We know the amazing economic impact that projects like this can deliver for our city," said Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon. 

Late last year, coral was planted at the site, which consists of nine buoyant sculptures tethered to the seafloor by reinforced concrete and steel pyramids.

First boats fully booked

Gold Coast Dive Adventures owner Harrison Cottrell said the site was already creating a buzz. 

"We've been getting loads of enquiries," he said.

"We've got boats fully booked for the first week already."

Mr Cottrell said his company, one of two local companies to be awarded contracts to dive on the site, would be operating boats four to five days per week. 

"It'll bring a lot of attention to the diving around the coast, I think it's a very underrated area of diving," he said. 

Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O'Callaghan said she hoped the new product would "cut through" the global market. 

"We are really excited because the new world means we need to compete extra hard," she said. 

"It's really important for an industry that's lost $5.6 billion in the last two years as a result of COVID."

Underwater design by Queensland artist

Reef specialist construction company Subcon's Matthew Allen said some of the biggest challenges were ensuring the nine-piece underwater structure would survive 18.5 metre waves which could potentially be brought on by a cyclone. 

Wonder Reef's components weigh more than 738 tonnes and create a 32,000sqm reef habitat.

"The foundations for each of the sculptures weigh 75 tonnes," Mr Allen said. 

Artist Daniel Templeman had designed public works in the past, but his creation for Wonder Reef was his first underwater piece. 

"I tried to make something that exaggerated that sense of buoyancy, something that pointed upwards to the sky," he said.