Stay away Kiwis should be getting some of the blame for an expected windfall failing to materialise for Gold Coast businesses, an Australian newspaper reports.
The Courier-Mail reports that many businesses on the Gold Coast are blaming the Commonwealth Games for the lack of a financial boost.
It says there is even talk of a class action by traders against organisers for scaring locals and tourists off with a campaign warning of traffic chaos.
But Gold Coast Tourism chief Martin Winter said the problem has been the failure of the New Zealand and New South Wales school holidays to synchronise with the Games.
He says that may have robbed the event of tens of thousands of extra visitors, the Courier-Mail reports.
Just as the Games wind down, the NZ and NSW school holidays both start this weekend.
NZ and NSW are major tourist markets for the Gold Coast, providing a combined 1.2 million visitors a year.
Winter said the Queensland, NSW and NZ school holidays all coincided last year but this year's scheduling has "not been kind to us".
He told the Courier-Mail the popular Easter holidays had been "slow" and tourists coming for the Games were seeking short stays.
Winter rejected complaints that parts of the Gold Coast had resembled a "ghost town".
"Ghost town is so far off the mark that it really doesn't warrant any honest response," he told the newspaper.
"This Commonwealth Games has met all the expectations we had and we set the bar very, very high. Notwithstanding that, it's fair to say there have been some traders who haven't had their expectations met."
Hotel occupancy had picked up in recent days from around 71% to 81%.
The Courier-Mail said that hotels were forced to slash room rates to fill rooms.
"There was never going to be 100% occupancy," Winter said.
He added that the Gold Coast's average annual occupancy rate was 71.6 per cent.
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Comments
There is no one to blame for reduced crowds other than the Queensland government and greedy accommodation providers.
The government have for months been telling everyone that traffic and public transport would be swamped. Their "plan" for locals was to tell them to stay at home or ride a bike.
Hoteliers and the like thought they could charge almost double per night.
Looks like the dear old public finally woke up.
Winter is FOS, now living here on the GC people were told to stay at home, Camp grounds within 3 hours of the GC are booked out by GC locals escaping the Games. The supermarket checkout lady told me she has never driven from A to B on the motor way so quick because everybody is away or staying at home. Surfers is a ghost town. A carpark across the road from the Carrara stadium where food vans paid $7000 each to be there were told by the Games officials 10000 people per day would be there, they were getting 800 per day because games officials have not sent the people across the road, rather to the train via the footpath on the other side of the road or onto the buses. Security staff have left because of BS living conditions. Locals have been shut out of there homes due to grandstands built on there street for the bowls. Board Beach was a ghost town last Friday evening for a free games even. police here are like the old NZ MW in the 80's without the brooms and shovels at such events, standing around chatting.