VAN DEMONS LAND

Lord Mayor unveils his vision for Tassie tourism: more grey nomads

THE Hobart Lord Mayor says the city should be transformed into an “RVfriendly capital” to capture the growing grey nomad tourism market.

And Alderman Ron Christie, pictured, suggests part of Macquarie Point should be turned into a caravan park to help.

He said grey nomads were a perfect example of sustainable rather than mass tourism — as they “go away and promote Hobart and say what a fantastic city it is”.

“I’d love Hobart to be an RV-friendly capital city and to welcome our fellow Aus- tralians to our forgotten island,” Ald Christie said. “These people generate cash.”

He suggested an overnight 30-spot caravan park at Macquarie Point would be ideal to entice grey nomads to the CBD.

PART of Macquarie Point would be turned into a caravan park under a bold bid by the Hobart Lord Mayor to capture the growing grey nomad market and create an “RV friendly capital city”.

Alderman Ron Christie, who has come under criticism recently for his comments on mass tourism, has expanded on an idea listed in the Hobart City Council’s Draft Transport Strategy.

The transport strategy, released for public consultation this week, outlines many measures to deal with Hobart’s growing transport pains.

One idea suggests the council could better manage caravans, RVs and campervans coming into the city by exploring a daytime parking spot at “under-utilised space in the Macquarie Point area”.

But Ald Christie took it a step further, suggesting an overnight RV park fitting up to 30 RVs at Macquarie Point would be ideal to entice grey nomads to the city to spend money in the CBD’s supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.

“It’s an incredibly growing market,” he said.

“I’d love Hobart to be an RV friendly capital city and to welcome our fellow Australians to our forgotten island. These people generate cash.” Ald Christie said with any major development at Macquarie Point probably more than a decade away, it would be the perfect spot to set up an RV park.

“How appropriate would Macquarie Point be on the outskirts of our city?” he said.

“Access along the Brooker Highway or the Tasman Highway straight to Macquarie Point would be perfect.”

The idea comes as Ald Christie doubles down against mass tourism, describing it as an “undiagnosed cancer slowly chewing into the fabric of our community”.

“I’m using serious language so it generates discussions,” he said. “People are concerned about it and everyone I’m speaking to says it will become a serious problem if we don’t act now.”

Ald Christie said attracting grey nomads was not mass tourism. “It’s tourism awareness because they go away and promote Hobart and say what a fantastic city it is with no high-rise buildings — that is sustainable tourism.”

Ald Christie said he was aware his personal view on tourism had and would continue to attract strong criticism.

“I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t,” he said.

“I’ve got nothing to lose.”