Caravans continue to make beeline to TNQ
DESPITE high fuel and caravan park prices the number of visitors driving to Tropical North Queensland has risen.
Domestic drive visitors increased by 12 per cent to 1.04 million and international drive visitors grew by 7 per cent to 106,000 for the year ending June 2017, according to the National Visitor Survey.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Pip Close said road trips were becoming increasingly popular especially with grey nomads.
“We are seeing more families doing bucket-list trips such as Epic Cape York and Savannah Way where they can spend time with their children enjoying nature instead of using screens for entertainment,” she said.
“Many of these visitors would be Queenslanders exploring their own state as intrastate visitation to Tropical North Queensland is up by 6.2 per cent.
“The grey nomads continue to dominate the drive sector, families and especially during winter when they want to enjoy our warm tropical weather.
“It is great to see the number of international drive visitors continuing to grow as they tend to stay longer and travel further throughout Tropical North Queensland than other visitors from overseas.
“Drive is important in dispersing visitors throughout our region with benefits flowing throughout the economy as people buy fuel, shop for groceries and make repairs to their vehicles.”
Campervan Club of Queensland Inc president John Fletcher said Cairns was “without fail” a must-visit destination among caravanners.
“I think there are good facilities up there, but you do get a lot of people who are naysayers, who if there isn’t something exactly to their liking, they dismiss it,” he said.
“I think local councils need to be more proactive in getting RVs to their locality.
“It’s worthwhile putting in things where you can park close to the centre of the city, free camps or access to showgrounds.” CALL AUDiOHEALTH – YOUR INDEPENDENT, LOCALLY OWNED FAMILY PRACTICE TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE TODAY! www.audiohealth.com.au
Mr Fletcher said fuel and the cost of caravan parks was the main economic factor affecting caravanners.
“Caravan parks are becoming much more expensive and offer resort-style accommodation, which isn’t what most are looking for.
“A lot of traditional caravan parks are in sites for redevelopment too and are being swallowed up by development.”
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