NT caravan parks back in demand as grey nomads warm to travel

CARAVAN parks are getting ready to welcome back grey nomads and interstate travellers as the Northern Territory’s strict border controls look set to loosen

Darwin FreeSpirit Resort front office manager Jayne Goodes is busy preparing for a flood of guests after the phones were ringing off the hook with inquiries from interstate travellerson Friday. Picture: Glenn Campbell

CARAVAN parks are getting ready to welcome back grey nomads and interstate travellers as the Northern Territory’s strict border controls look set to loosen.

Darwin FreeSpirit Resort has been practically empty since the COVID-19 pandemic began but yesterday their phones were ringing off the hook with travellers from interstate.

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Resort marketing manager Laura McArthur said there was a boom in booking inquiries after Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced on Thursday that interstate visitors will no longer have to undergo 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine from June 15.

The requirement would normally set travellers back about $2500 but now people will be able self isolate in their own personal or commercial accommodation.

“We didn’t see it coming, the announcement was a bit of a shock to be honest,” Ms McArthur said.

“Our biggest concern now is this weekly review the Chief Minister is doing on NT’s border restrictions. How much notice is he going to give us?

“Is he going to give us 30 days or 60 days to get ready before the borders open so businesses like ours aren’t blindsided.

“We need notice to get all the staffing, operations and everything in order because half the park is shut down at the moment so we’ve got a lot of work to do to take in all these travellers.”

NT Tourism boss Andrew Hopper said the drive market was extremely valuable, making up 56 per cent (or 420,000 visitors) of all domestic holiday visitors last year.

“Grey nomads are a significant portion of the drive segment and they typically disperse to regions and stay longer than visitors on average,” he said.

“Tourism NT is developing a drive market strategy to further understand opportunities and challenges, guide the prioritisation of investments and identify key product and marketing opportunities.”

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Hidden Valley Holiday Park manager Dani Walter said with bookings down 90 per cent at their caravan park they desperately needed grey nomads travelling in from interstate to start coming through again.

“We’re normally full this time of year but now we’re lucky to have six caravans who are semipermanent,” she said.

“I know some other parks who are doing it worse.”