Spread the love

In a bind brought on by its own popularity, the upward trajectory of immense growth in visitation right across the coastal towns of the Capricorn Coast on the Southern Great Barrier Reef (8 hours drive north of Brisbane) continues at a rapid pace.

Desirable due to its wide-open spaces, endless stretches of clean beaches, picture perfect landscapes, year-round sub-tropical weather, affordable options, and warm and welcoming community, is there any wonder that more and more people are landing on the Capricorn Coast’s doorstep for short or longer-term stays?

This strong growth continues to drive demand for greater short stay accommodation options across the Capricorn Coast and Rockhampton and why Capricorn Enterprise CEO, Mary Carroll believes now is the time to welcome a positive announcement about a significant player making significant investment in our destination.

“We are on track for some of the busiest years ever and new short stay developments are critical amid a currently tight accommodation market,” Mary said.

“With substantial major projects underway and kicking off soon such as the Rockhampton Ring Road, hundreds of workers will need to be accommodated and new developments are required to help deal with the influx of people.”

“In addition, Beef24 is approaching, and we know that this event brings considerable visitation to the region, and with the added increase of international guests in 2024 due to the popular event, there will be an even greater demand for beds.”

“Accommodation operators across both Capricorn Coast and Rockhampton are already experiencing extremely high occupancy rates and we don’t believe this is going to slow down any time soon.”

The latest National Visitor Survey results for year ending March 2022, showed that domestic visitation to the Capricorn Coast increased by 9.6% compared with the previous year, and revealed an 18.7% increase compared with 2019 (pre-COVID) figures.

Over the past three years, a 26.8% trend increase has occurred in bed nights with the latest data showing that 1,119,000 visitor nights were spent at accommodation facilities along the Capricorn Coast in the past year.

“Our belief is that the Capricorn Coast apartment market will thrive for years to come which is partly due to the interstate migration, affordability, proximity to the beach and of course, the lifestyle,” Mary said.

“The destination is certainly a place where people want to live, learn, work, invest and visit, however we must accelerate the delivery of multi-apartment complexes to assist with growth pressures.”

“Now is the time for investors and developers to start the process in order to deliver new short stay accommodation options to the market in a timely way ready for the commencement of upcoming major projects and events.”