Newcastle has more than 4000 hotels rooms compared to 1000 in Wollongong and the limited supply is becoming a major concern with more big events looming for the city.
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The message conveyed at a recent Destination Wollongong partner function by general manager Mark Sleigh. Following a presentation about the 3 Fest technology, art and society festival planned for the city early 2020 Mr Sleigh said the city urgently needs more accommodation.
Showing the latest results for Wollongong from the National Visitors Survey for September 2018 he said "if you look at the variation across domestic overnight visitors, domestic day trip visitors and international visitors we have over a 20 per cent growth in actual visitation to the area during the last four years".
"There is no business in Wollongong that does not genuinely benefit from a rise in visitor numbers. But the great thing about these figures is it is not just the numbers. The money is also coming".
"There has been a 27 per cent increase in money being spent by visitors during the last four years which is partly because of the opportunities being created for that to occur by local businesses".
But Mr Sleigh said one very important question is how do we continue to grow visitation and and the amount they spend.
"The key is absolutely infrastructure. We need to put infrastructure where visitors are going. Visitors are going to Flagstaff Hill, our foreshore, our escarpment and our lake. They are our world class opportunities and we need to work out as a community how we can drive that forward. And I can guarantee you as a community if we come together, work together and create the opportunities it is going to benefit everyone".
Mr Sleigh said as a community we have come a long way with tourism but we can go a lot further. "And as we go towards things like the UCI Road World Cycling Championships in 2022 where are those people going to come and spend their money around the area. It is time to start planning for that now".
Mr Sleigh said a massive issue that needs addressing now is more accommodation. Wollongong presently has 1000 hotel rooms but the number is falling. "As we move towards the UCI Road World Cycling Championships if we don't get serious about building hotels and moving the visitor economy forward the city will have a major conundrum".
He said it is something the city really needs to take seriously because a big problem is emerging in Wollongong that will hold the city back. And he hopes identifying a solution is something that business and all levels of government will help make a priority.
"It is something we all need to take really seriously and do really quickly because to build a hotel is going to take us five years and we don't have five years".
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
