The region of Gladstone is ranked 4th in the most favourite site for campers and travellers, but during 2015-2016 the numbers have gradually gone down.
In the last fiscal year, vacationers have spent fewer nights and made lesser trips to the area, spending only 1,004,427 nights in Central Queensland which resulted to a 12% drop on the last 12 months.
The benchmark for the average expenditure per night in the region amounts to $152. The businesses in Central Queensland would have gathered roughly around $152M last fiscal year, however, an ARM Newsdesk analysis of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia revealed that tourists made only about 217,509 trips in the year 2015-2016.
This resulted to a drop of 14% from the 2014-2015 figures.
But in the face of financial downturn, Central Queensland remains 4th in rank, preceded by Sunshine Coast, tropical North Queensland, and Brisbane.
According to Darryl Branthwaite, CEO of Gladstone Area Promotion and Development, they are coming up with a plan to attract, and possibly bring back, more vacationers and campers to the area as well as the regions surrounding Gladstone.
“We’ll soon have new signage at the rest stops and camping areas with information about our region,” said Darryl.
“We’re hoping to have that in place by the end of this year or early next year.
“Also we’re promoting the This is Queensland app a lot more too, because there is so much content on that for the travelling public and we find people don’t know about it.
“The fact that we’ve got a lot of people passing through the region, we’re putting infrastructure in place – things like dump points for caravans.
“We’re also looking at a day park where people can unhitch their vans and explore the region.”
According to CIAA’s Stuart Lamont, vacationers and campers are engaged and captivated by areas that offer exceptional amenities and tour options.
“Travellers look for outdoor and activity-based experiences as well as the chance to try local produce and dining venues,” said Stuart.
“Regions that enjoy great weather and climates are always popular, given the outdoor nature of caravanning and camping, but they also need to be accessible.
“Although active retirees have the time to explore the paths less travelled, families and couples like to access destinations quickly and easily so they enjoy their holiday in the region.”
Full article by Sherele Moody courtesy of The Chronicle.
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