Rooms scarce as Tweed overflows with holidaymakers
TOURIST operators are ecstatic at the number of tourists that converged on the Tweed and southern Gold Coast over the summer holiday period.
Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce president and Beach House Seaside Resort manager Gail O'Neill said she had received feedback from operators that occupancy was high.
"I talked to the resort across the road from us (Beach House Seaside Resort) and they are ecstatic," Ms O'Neill said.
"Usually it dies down a little toward the end of January but not this year.
"We have had a lot of families doing the family thing such as going to the beach every day and up to the theme parks for a day."
Ms O'Neill said a lot of tourists were from interstate.
Trevor "Big Trev" Arbon, owner of Big Trev's Water Sports at Jack Evans Boat Harbour, said a lot of the tourists to his business were coming from western parts of Queensland, such as Ipswich, Toowoomba and Darling Downs.
"It (business) has been pretty consistent," Mr Arbon said.
"I have had one or two of those real busy days."
Destination Tweed chief executive officer Bill Tatchell said official visitor numbers would not be out until March but accommodation providers has said they were full.
"We have a lot of people coming from southeast Queensland and interstate," Mr Tatchell said.
"The coast gets the lion's share of visitors and what we are trying to do is get more people into the rest of the shire.
Mr Tatchell said the tourist information centres were flat out but there were few rooms available.
He called on businesses that were not at capacity to join Destination Tweed so it could help.
