Caravan parks slapped with mass cancellations as state’s algae bloom leaves tourist towns scrambling

Regions reliant on summer tourism fear ‘there’ll be no town left’ as algae, toxic foam, and dead fish scare off holidayers, with more than half of one caravan park’s bookings already cancelled.

A toxic algae bloom is the latest in a list of damaging factors for SA’s accommodation industry, with some caravan park owners saying a bad summer period would leave communities “dead”.

Karenia Mikimotoi was first reported on Fleurieu Peninsula in March but has since ravaged much of the state’s coastline, leaving thousands of dead fish, rays, sharks, dolphins, and even a turtle.

Now, some members in the accommodation industry say the bloom could kill fishing tourism in the summer, while others say it’s already too late.

Ardrossan on the Yorke Peninsula lives off the summer crabbing season and tourists supporting small businesses.

Sonya and Shane Fowles, owners of Ardrossan Caravan Park, say there has been a decline in business due to the algal bloom. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Ardrossan jetty is abandoned, hundreds of dead fish lay in the water under the jetty. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Sonya Fowles runs the Ardrossan Caravan Park with her husband Shane and said “over half” of people that have booked for the summer holiday period are wanting refunds.

In comparison, on a “good year” the park would have all of its 18 cabins, 45-plus powered sites and over 90 onsite van sites full.

“We’re running at a loss, you can see it already, and in the last week and a half we’ve had probably over 50 phone calls asking about what the procedure is for cancellations,” Ms Fowles said.

It’s not just families looking for a getaway that are cancelling, Ms Fowles said, but the “true blues” that “almost own a site” and have been coming for years.

“These people don’t just come for a couple days, they come for a couple of weeks so they spend so much money at the park, at the pub, the shops, the service station, and local wineries in the region,” she said.

“And the people that come, not everyone wants to throw a line or a net in, it’s the older couple sitting on the beachfront with a picnic basket, just picture that; that’s who’s not going to be coming back after this.”

Port Vincent Caravan Park, also on the Yorke Peninsula, is all but empty as algae bloom concerns scare away tourists. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Edithburgh jetty has been devastated by a toxic algae bloom sweeping South Australia's coastline. Picture: Stefan Andrews courtesy Great Southern Reef Foundation

Edithburgh is another Yorke Peninsula town that has been rocked by the bloom, known for its colourful coral covered jetty, which is now sickly green and brown.

“At the moment we’re noticing it around the town, it’s very quiet — our town is dead,” Damian Thomas, manager of the caravan park, said.

“We survive through the quiet time, but if our peak time isn’t busy, that’s when people will be shutting down, then there’ll be no town left.

“We have thousands at peak time and we rely on that as a town.”

While the bloom started on the Fleurieu Peninsula, local parks have said cancellations weren’t “bad yet”, though there were “serious” concerns.

Cash Vincent, who runs the Middleton Caravan Park with her husband Andrew, said the region had been dealt waves of problems, from the pandemic, to a flood, and now dead sea life and toxic algae.

“We’re just hoping this isn’t too big of a setback for us,” she said.

“How much can a koala bear?”

Originally published as Caravan parks slapped with mass cancellations as state’s algae bloom leaves tourist towns scrambling