LATE SURGE HAS HOTELS ADDING UP THE PROFITS
LAST-MINUTE bookings saw Gold Coast hotels sprint to the finish line after a slow start in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, but the immediate benefits of the event are yet to be felt by many local businesses.
Data in the weeks before the Games showed forward accommodation bookings for April 4-15 running at 66.5 per cent occupancy – but preliminary data has revealed it grew to 80.9 per cent while the event was on.
The true impact won’t be known until the National Visitor Survey is released in September.
Organisers have been criticised for an overenthusiastic campaign to keep cars off the road, which also kept customers out of shops and restaurants.
Business owners were further enraged when it was revealed Gold Coast City Council had been warned of a downturn in trade during the Games a year ago, as part of a detailed report into the effects of the event.
The Griffith University Business School report highlighted a risk the “megaevent” would “fail to generate additional employment or income benefits” and deter locals, which would have “a deleterious impact on local spending”.
An author of the report, Dr Joan Carlini, yesterday said her research found it was common for politicians to overstate the benefits of mega events. She said the information being given to businesses by Get Set for the Games “wasn’t correct”.
Michelle Christoe, who operates the NightQuarter, was told 1.5 million visitors would travel through the Helensvale precinct.
The actual traffic fell well short, leading them to close completely for two days after planning to open every day.
“Get Set for Games informed us and our stallholders that 83 buses would pass our business per hour,” she said.
“We did not witness this throughout the Commonwealth Games.”
Local companies say they also missed out on more direct benefits, with companies from outside the city receiving the lion’s share of Games contracts.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall said the Games had been a learning exercise.
“It’s fair to say the friendship has been well and truly tested,” he said.