Visitor numbers at Noosa’s network of waterfront caravan parks have hit a record high, reaching close to 65,000 guests across three locations.
Noosa Holiday Parks performed strongly in the financial year 2023-24 with occupancy up by 5.6 per cent and forward bookings already strong, a recent report revealed.
The report, which provided an update on business activity from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, was mentioned at the Noosa Council Services and Organisation Committee meeting on August 6.
It also outlined that the parks earned a combined $4.53 million in revenue, which is an increase of 1.8 per cent.
Noosa Holiday Parks comprises the council-operated Noosa River Holiday Park, Noosa North Shore Campground and Boreen Point Campground.
According to the report, occupancy numbers at the parks increased by 3420 people during the 12-month period. This resulted in a record 64,631 visitors.
“During financial year 2023-24, the Noosa Holiday Parks accommodated over 64,000 guests,” the report stated.
“This is the highest recorded visitation levels at Noosa Holiday Parks and is 5.6 per cent higher than the previous year.”
Noosa North Shore Campground performed the strongest, with 3160 additional individual visitors increasing the annual visitation by 14 per cent.
Visitor numbers at Noosa North Shore hit a record 25,707 people and revenue was also up by 9.1 per cent.
Noosa River Holiday Park welcomed an extra 1345 people visitors, however numbers at Boreen Point decreased. According to the report, its visitation was down by 1085 people, or 5.7 per cent.
The number of nights sold was also up, reflecting the caravan park “boom” happening across the Sunshine Coast region.
“The number of nights sold is a measure of the total number of camping or caravanning site nights sold in a given period and is a key indicator of visitation and revenue performance,” the report said.
“Currently, the Noosa Holiday Parks have 294 sites available to guests per night.
“In financial year 2023-24, an additional 1087 nights were sold, representing a 1.35 per cent increase from the previous financial year period and a total of 84,307 nights sold.
“Noosa North Shore Campground was predominantly responsible for this increase, recording annual growth of 6.2 per cent.”
The report detailed that forward bookings were already totalling $2.55 million for the 2024-25 financial year.
Escape Parks manages the three locations, which includes operation and maintenance, minor repairs and reactive maintenance for each park performed in line with established budget allocations.
Last financial year the parks delivered an operational surplus of $1.06 million.
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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