Visitor numbers at holiday parks in the Noosa region have trended at record levels, with some of the highset occupancy rates seen in more than five years.
It comes after the Sunshine Coast emerged as a caravan and camping capital, with the industry continuing to see a spike in demand and popularity.
A report recently handed down to the Noosa Council has provided an update on holiday park business activity to December 31, 2022.
It detailed three council-owned parks were experiencing growth in visitation numbers and all operating above industry standards.
The report stated: “Across the Noosa Holiday Park program, occupant levels are trending to deliver an aggregate record visitation in financial year 2022-23.”
The parks are Noosa River Holiday Park, Noosa North Shore Beach Campground and Boreen Point Campground.
In 2022, all three holiday parks were awarded Tripadvisor Traveller Awards.
Year-to-date (YTD), the Noosa River Holiday Park – which went under new management last year – was revealed to be sitting at 95.02 per cent occupancy.
The popular park at Munna Beach historically delivered occupancy levels that were above industry norms.
In the 2021-22 financial year the park recorded 91.14 per cent occupancy, compared to 92.32 per cent in the 2017-18 year, with a notable drop during the peak COVID period.
Meanwhile, Boreen Point was seeing 53.13 per cent YTD occupancy, compared to 35.22 per cent the previous year, while North Shore was at 68.30 per cent YTD compared with 59.31 in 2021-22.
Noosa Council director of corporate services Trent Grauf told Sunshine Coast News the lift in numbers was positive news.
“We have seen high demand for camping and caravanning activity and our occupancy levels are reaching record levels,” he said.
“This good result provides economic benefits and income to the shire and are a result of council’s strong investment in operational systems and high-quality management services.”
Mr Grauf said that while lower than their counterpart at Noosa River, the occupancy levels at Noosa North Shore and Boreen Point campgrounds had increased over time and were performing well at an industry level.
“Noosa River Holiday Park has historically had a different occupancy pattern due to a different demographic of visitors from interstate (NSW and Victoria),” he said.
The report also outlined financial year-to-date performance for the Noosa Holiday Parks business activity was positive, characterised by high revenue levels and a strong operating surplus.
Financial surplus from the Noosa Holiday Parks business activity is used to offset general rate increases otherwise required to fund non-revenue-generating council activities and programs.
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