‘Free’ camping costly
THE new free camping strategy the Townsville City Council has just decided to implement is a fizzer.
As the operator of a caravan park in Townsville I have a different opinion on what type of strategy is needed for Townsville to create prosperity and jobs for local businesses.
Firstly, nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it – in this case the ratepayers.
All the services offered to free campers by TCC are already provided by caravan parks to travellers at their expense and also provide revenue to TCC and others in the city.
The free camping will not provide revenue to businesses in the city but work to deprive them of it.
Once a traveller is offered a free camp in the Northern Beaches, there is absolutely no chance of that traveller unhooking his van and risking theft to drive 30km to spend money in Townsville.
How about we look at a positive income-producing, jobcreating strategy instead – one that has a proven track record all around the world?
A well-placed tourist information centre, on the corner of the Bruce Highway and Racecourse at Wulguru opposite Fairfield shopping centre, with an eye-catching Big Something out front along with billboards north, south and west to get travellers to stop and see what our city has to offer, would be more effective.
There could be a large parking area at the back with a professional booking service inside to offer deals on accommodation and attractions.
Then, at 4pm each day, provide a free city bus tour along The Strand looking over to Maggie and give them a VIT (very important tourist) sticker, offering a raft of goodies like free city parking and discounts.
The money the TCC is going to use in booking, policing, cleaning, waste removal and repairs will not produce one dollar of revenue for our city or create one job. Every free camper will just be another nail in the coffin of struggling accommodation providers.
I would much rather the council use that revenue to reinvest with all businesses in Townsville and partner with parks and others to add offers in the VIT program.
BILL CONDON,
Black River.