This is a good article that warrants comment.. and to be honest I personally hope the Wizzbang renters never discover the beauty of the outback..
I also hope that the outback business community wake up the the fact that they need find ways to get our $$$$$ off us instead of looking for ways of stopping us from doing it our way..
Small rural towns that don't welcome greys with open arms are only asking for financial ruin. More and more young people from the bush are leaving mainly due to a complete collapse in their employment prospects if they were to stay. Many farms have been bought out and amalgamated by multi national companies and countless small business enterprises have had to close. The future is very bleak indeed for many outback towns.
One of the only bright lights on the horizon for these places is tourism, especially tourism that stays in the town for more than a couple of hours. Greys spend money, maybe not lots of money individually, in shops and pubs. They need fuel and other services and they're interested in looking at various attractions these towns have to offer.
Why would any small town not roll out the welcome mat to the ever increasing horde of caravan/MH adventurers? Vested interests in small towns have to understand that without us, their businesses will fall over if we feel unwelcome. The vast majority of true GNs treat their hosts' towns with respect and leave no trace when they go. What's not to like.
Here is a good example of why towns should throw out the welcome mat for Grey Nomads. We spent the following in a outback town. Petrol....$134.00 Groceries$ 115.00 Gas refill $43.00 ( Yes we were robbed on this one), but needed gas
Other items ion small shops$40.00
Total $332.00
So these outback towns should have welcome signs approaching the town reading.
Grey Nomads and RVers, campers, welcome to our town.
Jay&Dee
-- Edited by JayDee on Monday 18th of August 2014 11:39:17 AM