BOA

Sunday, 19 June 2011 23:17

BOA NSW welcomed a large crowd of over 50 people to the BOA Talks - Byron Bay event held on Thursday 16th June at Nomads Odyssey in Byron Bay.

BOA's second regional talk for 2011, it encouraged local operators to come together to look at local issues affecting the market with attendees putting forward a number of topics to discuss.

To see a copy of the event's agenda, please click here.

After a welcome from BOA President Katrina Greeves, Insurance Advisernet Australia's Fred Allsopp advised the audience about the importance of insuring your business at the appropriate level, having a suitable Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan in place and how to manage your business when facing difficult times. To view his presentation please see here.

Bill Mabey, Tourism Business Development Manager for Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast & New England North West from Tourism NSW presented to the room some figures, statistics and trends relating to international backpackers visitation to the NSW Northern Rivers region. His presentation showed that the number of backpackers visiting the Northern Rivers had decreased 5% in 2010. This decline came from a drop in backpackers from the region's top market - the UK. To view Bill's presentation please click here or to read his handout click here.

Hostelworld.com's Account Manager for Oceania, Indonesia & the Philippines, Kristy Carstairs had some of the latest statistics available from Hostelworld for Oceania, and looked specifically at Byron Bay - the fatest growing town for bookings in Australia and accounting for 13% of all bookings into NSW after Sydney. To view Kristy's presentation please click here.

The main crux of the day was the round table discussion of local issues affecting Byron Bay operators - as outlined below. The room agreed that the market was significantly down and operators were hurting. As one attendee put it, "the surf's been sensational but business is flat".

- Tendering requirements for ocean front operators e.g. surf and kayaking companies.

• The current 5 year contract sets operators up to lose out, even when they work hard on building their brand and reputation.
• The Council needs to reward local businesses in the tendering process, for example those who have been operating for a long period of time.
• The tender process for a licence is difficult and there needs to be real value added in the tender process.
• It is difficult for operators to retain good product, which is a big issue, and has heightened the cost of operation.
• There needs to be a push for product development in the area.

- Vans parking on Byron Bay streets

• 'Van-packing' is an issue in the area, experiencing explosive growth in the last few years.
• The police reported that they are getting a lot of complaints, however there appears to be some misinformation which can give backpackers a bad name.
• Fines are in place for those that break the law however backpackers aren't going to bother paying fines if they have bought the vehicle as they sell their vehicles when they leave the country.
• There appears to be a number of blogs in existence that tell backpackers where to stay with their vans when they visit Byron Bay for free.
• The Woolworths car park is being used as a place to stay by many and “smells like a toilet” every morning according to one operator.
• One attendee said that internationally there is a perception that backpackers can visit Australia, 'van-pack' around the country and stay anywhere for free.
• It may be worth investigating the production of an information leaflet to hand out when fines are passed onto backpackers to inform them of where they can and cannot stay.

- Overdiscounting

• Attendees agreed that it seems to be “a race to the bottom” which is not beneficial to the backpacking market in Byron Bay. Being too competitive forces competition to drop rates too so everyone loses out and the bottom drops out of the industry.
• Hostelworld’s Kristy Carstairs said from a recent survey of Hostelworld users, a majority would pay more to stay in a quality hostel and that price wasn’t the only determining factor when deciding where to stay.

- Byron Bay liquor accord/1am lock out/discount drinking culture in Byron Bay

• The 1am lockout is currently under probation and is in place to curb the excessive drinking of younger people, including backpackers, in Byron Bay.
• The Council do not want drunk people hanging around town and disturbing the peace as it is important to ensure the safety of visitors and residents – Police said 60-70% of the work they do involves alcohol and crime.
• Monique Phillips from Cheeky Monkeys said the 1am lockout has the potential to hurt many bar operators from a commercial perspective as their business begins after midnight and will suffer as a result. 

- Fire Safety standards and illegal accommodation

• Fire safety in Byron Bay is a very important issue considering the recent fire at an illegal backpackers in the area.
• There is still a large amount of illegal accommodation in the area. If anyone has any suspicions regarding an illegal property, they should contact the BOA Secretariat who will pursue the matter with the Byron Shire Council.

Peggy O'Neill, Manager from Nomads Odyssey and Arts Factory, wrapped up the meeting with a call to all operators to get involved with the new BOA Byron Bay Sub Committee. If you want to get involved, contact Peggy on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or email the BOA Secretariat on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Don't forget, 50% of all Byron Bay BOA members’ membership fees go back into the Byron Bay Sub Committee - to access a BOA membership form please click here.

BOA NSW would like to thank all the speakers, participants and organisers for making the event a success.

Are you interested in coming along to our next BOA Talks event? Mark Thursday 8th September in your diaries as BOA will be hosting our Sydney Talks. If you have any questions, please contact the BOA Secretariat on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .