No warmth in winter tourist season

14th July 2009

EMPTY beds on winter nights may not be keeping tourist operators awake but the school holiday period has left three Hervey Bay hotel owners concerned about the state of the industry.

Andrew Crewe of Delfinos Bay Resort said that occupancy figures for his business were down 2 per cent from last year's winter holiday figures.

"We rely on repeat business, especially from the four-and-a-half-hour drive market, which is 60 per cent of the people who come here," Mr Crewe said.

"The cost of running the rooms has gone up and we are undoubtedly feeling the effects."

Grange owner Peter Butler agreed but pointed south of the border to explain the drop in numbers.

He believes that the number of New South Wales tourists has dropped off, even before Jetstar cuts its service to and from Sydney at the end of the month.

"We don't know why they (Jetstar) stopped coming here, especially when the planes were full," he said.

Mr Butler said his bookings had decreased by 20 per cent since the same time last year.

"It doesn't feel like school holidays and next week isn't looking any better."

The two-week New South Wales school holiday period started yesterday.

La Mer operator Kevin Smith attributed the drop in tourist numbers to recent financial hardships that have left families struggling for extra holiday cash.

This winter's tourist numbers are being analysed by Fraser Coast South Burnett Regional Tourism.

Marketing manager Nick Marks said he was unable to comment until a broad cross-section of the accommodation houses occupancy figures was obtained from the research.