The latest 'Domestic Tourism Snapshot' survey produced by 'Tourism Queensland' says the Whitsundays received 468,000 Aussie visitors for the period from March 2012 to 2013 - a drop of 19% from the previous year.
Folks that live in other parts of Queensland that decided to visit the Whitsundays plunged a whopping 28%.
Tourism Queensland's interpretation of the results is:
"The Whitsundays continued to see increased interstate holiday visitation.
Despite the average length of stay for these visitors declining they remain the largest source of domestic nights for the Whitsundays region. Intrastate holiday visitation declined after the region experienced near record levels in the previous year."
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| March 2012 - March 2013: Australian visitors to Queensland regions |
Source: Tourism Queensland - Domestic Tourism Snapshot (full report PDF)
1 comment:
No surprise if my experience is common.
I hired "lazyitis" bare boat charter with Cumberland charter yachts in may.
On departure noticed fuel gauge was showing half full, and on questioning this was told it was actually full, just a faulty gauge.
At first radio schedule I again questioned this and was told that based on the records the gauge as in fact incorrect, and they were positive the tank was near full.
So I continued, but kept an eye on the gauge which gradually moved toward zero as the motor was used over the next few days.
There was some underlying anxiety about this, but I tried to let it go.
On the third evening of our charter, a Saturday night, the aft water tank ran dry, which was expected, so we switched to the for'ard tank only to find that it was empty too.
With no faults in the plumbing, and the fact that we had not used it at all we assumed (correctly) that the forward tank was empty on departure.
This necessitated a trip to Hamilton Island the following day for water, and I asked if it would not be prudent to top up fuel just in case while we were in port, however, once again was assured that the fuel was fine.
By now my brother had had enough, with the boat being too small for the two of us, and I believe the underlying anxiety about fuel, exacerbated by running out of water, contributed to his decision.
So my wife and I continued without him.
On the Monday morning as we motored down through hook passage toward Cid Harbour, the motor stopped - yes, the fuel ran out.
The gauge was always correct, and we had departed port with half a tank, and half full water (no gauges to warn us about this one).
We were reluctantly not charged for fuel by Cumberland charter yachts, and refunded about $200 on top of that, but the week involved the loss of about two days of sailing due to water resupply and then fuel resupply, not to mention the stress caused by our concern about these matters.
When we were expecting and desiring a relaxed, no- stress holiday, we reasonably expected to have zero concerns about such matters, so were deeply disappointed.
This experience soured our view of the whitsundays and prevented our ability to enjoy the natural beauty of the area, so we have no great desire to return.
As a pilot with an international airline, I plan to relay my experience to any of my colleagues, and let them make up their own mind as to whether they want to take a risk of such a venture, but my wife and I certainly are not interested in spending our money in that area again.
Thanks for listening, complaining is slightly cathartic, but I would rather have had an enjoyable experience.
Paul Simpson
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