Since we've been here in Broome we have followed the news on local radio and been fascinated by the stories. Since our last visit two years ago a lot of tourist operators have gone bankrupt yet all caravan parks packed full. For example, in 2009 there were three operators flying to the horizontal falls, now there is only one, the other two have gone.
These businesses are not exactly small, the one we went with last time had assets worth over $10 Million, now they're gone. Somehow this didn't make sense until this morning when I heard an interview with a Broome business woman who said that customers are just not spending money.
There are two distinct tourist typer here, the long term caravaners and the short term holiday makers which fly-in for their one or two week holiday and spend accordingly.
The caravaners are on a budget which needs to last between three and twelve months. In addition, most of the grey nomads are self funded retirees which have to cope with the increased prices of goods and services and the lower income from thier investments.
The fly-in holiday makers are not coming as the high Australian dollar encourages them to go overseas instead.
The result speaks for itself, the typical tourist shops fall by the wayside and the more basic tourist services survive. People are certainly not parting with their had earned cash.
Not much else to report, we have had a fairly lazy day today with a little bit of shopping and time at the pool during the hot part of the day. Our Broome days always end with a a dessert of locally grown Mango.
No comments:
Post a Comment