Kiwis being blamed for not enough Gold Coast tourists

Sam Webster of New Zealand celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men's Sprint Finals on day three of the track cycling competition at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Photo / AAP

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.

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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 per cent to 81 per cent.

The Courier-Mail said that hotels were forced to slash room rates to fill rooms.

"There was never going to be 100 per cent occupancy," Winter said.

He added that the Gold Coast's average annual occupancy rate was 71.6 per cent.