July 15, 2015
A survey of visitors using Murgon’s 48-hour free camping ground has lent support to the idea the facility is capturing a completely new, untapped market that was formerly bypassing the town.
At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Murgon Business and Development Association (MBDA), members heard the Murgon Visitor Information Centre had been surveying camping ground users over the past month.
The Centre asked users if they would pass through the area if the camping ground closed down, or seek alternative accommodation instead.
85 per cent of survey respondents said they would pass through the area if the camping ground did not exist; 15 per cent said they would seek other accommodation.
Cr Kathy Duff said the survey results seemed to support the MBDA’s belief the camping ground was capturing a market Murgon had formerly missed.
President Leo Geraghty said he had been monitoring visitors using the camping ground over the survey period, and found they were respecting the 48-hour maximum stay limit.
He said a “receipt box” at the camping ground – which encourages visitors to drop receipts for any spending they made in town while staying at the camping ground – led him to believe the facility had generated at least $30,000 extra for Murgon businesses over the last three months.
Nonetheless the MBDA will ask the South Burnett Regional Council to replace old signs pointing to the former Murgon Caravan Park with new ones that will direct short-stay visitors to the renamed camping ground, and remove blue caravan symbols on nearby roads to make it clear the camping ground is not a caravan park.
The group have recently placed laminated signs in the camping ground to emphasise the maximum permitted stay is 48 hours.
The new signs also highlight local attractions in the hope visitors can be persuaded to extend their stay using the town’s commercial accommodation facilities.
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Cr Kathy Duff gave the meeting a quick run-through of the 2015-2016 South Burnett Regional Council Budget handed down on June 29.
She said items that would be of particular interest to Murgon included:
- A number of upgrades have been planned for Yallakool Tourist Park; they are all designed to improve the facility, expand its capacity and encourage more visitors to the area
- The triangular parking area opposite the new Murgon Aquatic Complex will be upgraded and sealed, providing extra parking spots for local schools and pool users
- The PCYC’s car park will be repaired and half the building’s roof replaced in the coming year; the other half of the roof will be replaced next year
- The Murgon Aquatic Complex will now incorporate a grandstand, thanks to a grant secured by the Murgon Swimming Club; the new $1.1m complex is still on schedule to open in time for this year’s swimming season
- A white-ant ridden children’s room at the Murgon Tennis Courts will be replaced
- A projection screen will be installed in Murgon Town Hall
Cr Duff said it was also possible Campbells Road Bridge would be replaced in the coming year, though the Council was still waiting for tenders to come in before making a final decision.
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The MBDA has become the first of the region’s business associations to react to Tuesday’s news that the South Burnett Tourism Association has been dissolved.
President Leo Geraghty said he thought the $50,000 annual fee the South Burnett Regional Council was paying to belong to the Southern Queensland Country Regional Tourism Organisation would be better spent locally.
“I think we get very little benefit from belonging to this group,” Mr Geraghty said.
He said if the Council has now appointed a Tourism Officer, it should give this new appointee the funds instead to be used to sell the region directly, rather than hope that a Toowoomba-based organisation would do it.
He said direct funding of local tourism promotion was something the MBDA supported.
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The MBDA’s August meeting will be a breakfast at Raj’s Cafe at 79 Lamb Street, and will kick off at 6:30am.
Scott Kapernick from Teys Australia and new SBRC Tourism Officer Julie Foley will be special guest speakers.
New members are very welcome, and more details can be obtained from MBDA Secretary Margaret Long on (07) 4168-2922, 0413-488-418 or by email.
