While many states are imposing various levels of restrictions in reaction to ongoing Covid outbreaks, it seems caravan parks in Queensland’s far north are still ‘bursting at the seams’.
The Cairns Post reports that Cairns and Port Douglas operators are reporting record-breaking seasons in the face of Queensland’s hard border closure to New South Wales and the worrying situations in Victoria and South Australia.
Cairns Coconut employee Judy Strickland said their Woree based site has “never been so busy” with travel restrictions further south inadvertently helping business.
“Once cancellations came from NSW and Victoria they literally get booked again within hours, it has been crazy,” she said. “We’ve never been so busy and it’s the same across Cairns.”
Big4 Cairns Crystal Cascades Holiday Park manager Cindy Pena told the Cairns Post that it had been fully booked for the next two months … but not all guests were grey nomads.
“We’ve obviously got the older campers but we are seeing so many younger people getting into this new world, using Covid to take advantage of travelling in our own state and country,” she said.
Pandanus Caravan Park manager Amanda Bailey said while high-end resorts in Port Douglas were losing bookings her park was turning customers away.
“It’s unprecedented,” she told the Cairns Post. “We’ll be fully booked into September I think … the season started early and will go late.”
Cairns economist Bill Cummings has previously said he expects drive tourism to surge in the second half of the year.
“Domestic tourism is king in the regions,” he told the Post. “Places like Cooktown and Undara have actually been faring pretty well despite the pandemic … Queenslanders were and are still travelling to these places.”
Yes.
FNQ is full of travellers great to see
Broome Kununurra Lake Argyle all full currently.
Can anyone tell me if its the same in North W.A ?
From Exmouth ( booked out till Oct), Broome – nothing anywhere, Derby full.
We have lost the choice of where to go, we have to take whatever is available and that means just the odd couple of days here and there.
Very frustrating and taking away all the pleasure.
Hi Brett. Yes, the WA coast is so crowded it’s not funny! My wife and I are going north-to-south along the coast and at the moment you need to plan ahead by about a month if you want to stay anywhere popular. We did the same trip in 2018 and didn’t need to book ahead anywhere except Karijini and the horizontal falls.
same uphere in broome wa.
We were up north and managed to get a week at crystal cascades, however, we are back home 6 weeks early because everything was booked out.
And on a slightly negative note. Costs are skyrocketing.
Supply, demand and greed.
Currently in Broome with all parks and overflow parks fully booked and caravans continuing to arrive. Good luck with any bookings but anyone coming north should arrive at their chosen parks around 8am otherwise you are wasting your time. It is a great pity that most places are not taking bookings and it is first in best served basis.
As always be flexible and go with the flow if things turn pear shape.
Object to “worrying situation in South Australia”. They went into a hard lockdown which only lasted 7 days – only 19 cases in the cluster and in my opinion the State is the new “gold standard”. I’m a Queenslander by the way.
However, it quite hypocritical in greater Adelaide
We’re staying at Forrest Beach, near Ingham Qld in the Forrest Beach Hotel Caravan Park. We’ve been here two weeks, and its basically been full every night.
There was plenty of space in the campground in the village when we were there a week ago, and only $10/per night, and not packed in like sardines as you are at the hotel park.
Currently here in Karumba, Gulf Country North QLD, and the place is full to overflowing. Unfortunately the hospitality businesses here are struggling to get staff, so probably not benefiting from the numbers as much as they would like.
Hi I am listening to friends up north who listened to QLD and WA Caravan Parks that were bleeding financially through COVID lock downs we all did financially and caravan parks encouraged southern state’s people from the east to come up come over however I am told many of these parks are now gouging holiday makers. My industry is not gouging customers why are parks. It just seems ironical one minute their begging us to come up next minute their gouging just does not seem in the spirit of what should be happening or do I just have it all wrong that we gouge our customers after we complain maybe my attitude should change and all businesses should gouge the public. Tell me everyone have I got this wrong I am perplexed not looking for an argument or abuse am I just thinking wrong about why should they gouge.
They tell us we are all in this together, I know the c/ parks have lost money through COVID but so have we all. Travellers have long memories so this could come back and bite the gougers on the backside. Just saying
Yes travelling fulltime in our 40ft bus yes parks full. Plus most don’t have big enough sites.
So more free camping needed. Thank goodness we are complete off grid with our huge 2000 watt solar so gravel pits have been a life saver for somewhere safe to park up for a rest.
I live in Mission Beach and it is bursting. But are the local hospitality businesses taking advantage and making up for bad times? No they’re taking a break!