Hi Landy
I think its inaccurate to take the accommodation cost in isolation, (your so called subsidy) Towns are smarter than that, and realise you get the tourist in with the lure of the accommodation, As I have shown in the figures the town ended up $100+ better off, hence through some smart marketing, the town is progressing. Again I say, where you feel your welcome and getting a fair deal you will (as we will ) return hence the town income will continue to grow.
Generally I think caravan
park owners are flogging a dead horse trying to force nomads into their parks, There are those that will never
free camp as they like the security and luxury a
park offers, on the other hand there are equally those that will never be herded in to parks as either its unaffordable, or is not the experience there looking for.
Unfortunately trying to force these people to live a life style they don’t want may result in less nomads in the towns, a loss of additional trade, facilities will close and the town will become less attractive hence less visitors and less people staying at the caravan
park, the circular effect you mention. . Thus from another perspective,
park owner actions may
well result in the disintegration of smaller towns
Of course the amount anyone spends is always related to what they have available. If you are on the pension I would guess it is limited to fuel and food then accommodation then extras. By increasing the $ for accommodation you reduce the money available to spend elsewhere and eventually run the real risk of loosing all their dollars. I have not come across people that have funds but choose not to spend it, but they do like the choice where they spend it.
I see this last weekend there was a report on
York, all 4 of their hotels are for sale. I, like others, don’t see the value of spending $130 for a room (in
york) for the night. Unfortunately the kick on from this is tourist numbers are down and the whole town is suffering.
My thoughts, I think towns should listen to what the customer wants rather than trying to dictate what they’re going to get.