Ring the bell on holidays
Surge expected when borders open
CAMPING grounds across the Far North have been booked out or getting popular as tourist destinations slowly reopen in time for the start of the school holidays this weekend.
A Cairns Regional Council spokesman said Bramston Beach Campground had no spaces left for the first week of school holidays.
“There is some limited availability in the second week of the school break for both powered and unpowered sites,” he said.
“Strong interest has come from both interstate and intrastate visitors, regular and new guests.”
Looking ahead to the proposed July 10 border reopening, he said the powered sites were also fully booked for the show holiday weekend on July 17-19, and August and September had strong bookings.
At other sites, Gordonvale’s Greenpatch and Babinda’s Rotary Park and Boulders, which are free short-stay sites, require no bookings and are at 50 per cent capacity.
“It is expected that this is likely to increase as the weather improves and when the state borders reopen,” the spokesman said.
“Generally everyone at the free sites is respecting the 72 hours stay period and users have been complying with social distancing measures.”
Camping across the region is an important mix in the tourism sector, accounting for 293,000 visitor nights per year based on 2018 Cairns Regional Council figures. A council spokesman said it was estimated to be worth more than $30m to the region.
Cairns Camping Specialists manager Lance Edward said there had been a “spike in sales” in the past two weeks.
“With things opening up again, people are out and about and we’ve seen people buying a whole range of items,” Mr Edward said.
“From tents to gasware to sleeping bags to tables and chairs.”
Mr Edward also said that anyone intending to make a last-minute decision to go camping needed to ensure their planning – in regards to items, location and weather – was spot on before venturing out.
NRMA Parks and Resorts CEO Paul Davies said their Cairns Holiday Park was usually in premium season but with the current closure of borders, there had been a decrease in both interstate and international visitors, with bookings at less than 50 per cent compared with the same time last year.
“While NRMA Parks and Resorts has been busy with inquiries since the announcement of restrictions easing, we have not seen a spike in interstate bookings at Cairns specifically for after July 10,” he said.
“We are hopeful people will start booking last minute getaways after months of lockdown life but currently there’s up to an 80 per cent reduction in the number of guests compared to this time last year.”
Mr Davies said these bookings were crucial because “we know that for every $1 of park income, $1.38 is spent in the local community, so a booming holiday park is a lifeline for a struggling local economy”.
“Taking a road trip to a holiday park is the ideal way to escape right now, with plenty of outdoor space and a wide range of different accommodation options including selfcontained cabins and ensuite caravan sites so guests don’t have to share amenities,” he said.
WE ARE HOPEFUL PEOPLE WILL START BOOKING LAST MINUTE GETAWAYS AFTER MONTHS OF LOCKDOWN LIFE …
PAUL DAVIES