Dollar hurting tourism, especially Queensland coastal hotel occupancy: RBA

RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe has highlighted the struggles facing hotel operators in coastal Queensland in a speech on structural changes in the Australian economy as a result of the mining boom and the high Australian dollar. 

Addressing the Australian Industry Group 12th Annual Economic Forum in Sydney today, Lowe presented the following slide clearly showing the disparity in room occupancy rates in inner-city hotels in Melbourne and Sydney versus those for resorts in the tourist regions of the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Whitsundays.

Lowe said the high dollar had “contributed to a decline in travel to the traditional domestic holiday destinations, with Australians travelling overseas in ever increasing numbers”. 

“This has created quite difficult conditions for parts of the industry with, for  example, room occupancy rates along the Queensland coast having fallen over recent years. 

“In contrast, conditions are noticeably stronger in the accommodation sectors in some of the large cities, which are benefiting from an increase in business travel and an apparent shift in preferences by overseas tourists for city-based experiences. 

“In Sydney, for example, room occupancy rates are at quite high levels,” he said. 

The gap between short-term visitor arrivals (496,800 movements) and short-term resident departures (667,100 movements) widened in January, according to the latest ABS figures. 

During January 2012, short-term visitor arrivals decreased by 0.6% while short-term resident departures increased 2.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis.