Maitland’s visitor economy is set to reap the benefits of the Hunter Valley concert season, which kicked off with Opera in the Vineyards at Chateau Elan on Saturday.
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But whether or not Maitland has the accommodation to cater for those events is another issue.
Major acts, including Stevie Nicks, Cat Stevens and Midnight Oil, as well as the upcoming Supercars event in Newcastle, are expected to bring thousands of tourists to the Hunter.
Maitland business Chamber president Craig McGregor said the lack of accommodation was a challenging issue for the city.
He said Maitland could host major events like the Supercars, but the city simply did not have the accommodation base to support it.
Mr McGregor said when Maitland hosted major sporting events such as state tournaments, attendees often had to stay in Newcastle, which was sending tourism dollars out of town. “That’s a real miss out for us.”
Mr McGregor believed there needed to be a taskforce set up to figure out how to grow the visitor economy, while also providing enough places to stay.
“It’s a challenge, there it a lot of planning and development involved in it,” he said.
But while the region’s jam-packed event schedule brings flocks of tourists to town on a regular basis, Maitland Council’s visitor and city economy coordinator Martin Payne does not believe Maitland’s accommodation availability is bursting at the seams.
“Maitland is positioned to catch the overflow visitors from surrounding regions,” Mr Payne said.
“Some operators are learning how to really leverage that opportunity.
“At times there is high occupancy. We get the impression that is growing.
“But it’s a delicate balance. It depends on the time of year. We’re not quite there yet.”
At times there is high occupancy. We get the impression that is growing.
- Martin Payne
And while Mr Payne believes there is not yet an accommodation crisis, he said whether or not there was enough places to stay was “always a question that is going to need to be asked”.
To help cater for and encourage that growth, council is preparing a destination management plan.
The plan will include ways to utilise Maitland’s assets as a tourism draw card and identify what infrastructure is needed to grow the visitor economy.