Coast exodus is gold for NSW

AN exodus of Gold Coast locals is underway, with many taking off on holidays to get out of town during the Commonwealth Games.

Businesses reliant on local trade have reported a drop in the past week and Gold Coast Airport is juggling a flock of locals flying out as Commonwealth Games-bound tourists and athletes fly in.

A northern NSW tourism marketing body is also taking a not-so-subtle swipe at the Gold Coast as a good place to leave during the Games, now under a week away.

In a statement headlined “Gold Coasters migrating south for the Games’’, Destination North Coast NSW says accommodation providers are booming with bookings in April.

Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer Marion Charlton said the terminal’s long-term parking was expected to overflow with cars of locals and northern NSW residents leaving the city.

“Currently we have triple the number of car park bookings we had last year for the same holiday period, and this is growing daily,” she said.

“As a result we have contingencies in place to accommodate the expected overflow, but we do encourage people to prebook their parking.”

The airport is expecting a 3.2 per cent increase in extra seat capacity into and out of the Gold Coast for March.

Nearby parking companies say they are fully booked for the Easter weekend, with much heavier business during the Games weeks.

“We are looking at around 700 cars this weekend and we will be full for Easter,” Ezy Parking’s Peter Maxwell said.

“The Games period will be busier than normal. A lot of people are packing up and getting out.”

Gymnasiums also reported locals were leaving for the holiday and Games period.

My Fitness Club Broadbeach’s John Montgomery said a “significant’’ number of members had put memberships on hold across Easter and early April. “The majority said the reason was because they were going away for the Games,” he said.

But Denise Christophers, manager of Southport’s Luv A Coffee, said business had been booming in recent days.

“It’s a bit hard to know really. We’ve been flat strap over the past three or four days, and don’t know if that’s people getting in early and getting their fix,” she said.

Some businesses say they are expecting a fall in day-today trade from regulars.

Tania Meli, general manager of the Frizelle Audi, Alfa Romeo and Fiat centres at Southport, said the situation was temporary. “We’ve also done a roster of annual leave where some employees are on call, because if it’s not as diabolical as we predict, they’ll just be up the road,” she said.

Destination North Coast NSW general manager Phil Harman said he expected a “substantial jump” on the almost 5.2 million Australians who booked overnight stays in the region last year.