Budget tourists turn Noosa's Hastings Street precinct from 'boutique to bogan'
UPMARKET Noosa is being swamped by budget tourists in a trend some locals claim is changing Hastings St from boutique to bogan.
Low-cost airlines Virgin, Jetstar and Tiger are blamed for flying in hordes of cheap travellers who "bring their own packed lunch" instead of dining out.
Shopkeepers and business identities complain that Hastings St, which
used to be on par with the exclusive southern suburbs of Double Bay and Toorak, is being spoiled.
As a result, the once-pricey boutiques of Hastings St have been replaced with budget chain stores and surf shops.
One shopkeeper said she was "sick to the eye teeth" of the cheap chain stores lowering the precinct's status.
Another retail landlord said the tourist strip needed shops like Versace and Tiffany & Co but that wouldn't happen while budget airlines were bringing in mark-down tourists.
"We really need Qantas to fly into the Sunshine Coast and a real five-star resort that will attract the kind of visitors we want," the landlord said.
Tourism Noosa CEO Steve Cooper said the market had shifted, with Noosa now attracting a younger demographic of budget families.
Last year the beach haven drew record visitors 920,000 domestic and 149,000 international but they had shorter stays and spent less.
"It's the lingering effects of the global financial crisis and, with the rise of the dollar, it poses a lot of problems for Noosa and Australia in how we combat that," Mr Cooper said.
High retail rents in Noosa, among the most expensive in the country, have also contributed to the ousting of small businesses by chain stores.
Noosa Chamber of Commerce president Carl Beck admitted Hastings St was becoming "just like any other street in the suburbs".
"But there's nothing we can do about it. We can't dictate who goes in or not. It's just business," he said.
New Zealand tourist Angela Byers has been visiting Noosa for six years and said the area's changing face was not so bad.
"We don't really come here for the shopping, we come here for the beach," she said.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/travel/budget-tourists-turn-noosas-hastings-street-precinct-from-boutique-to-bogan/story-e6freqwf-1226060223074
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What can I say but LOL. Ahhh!!! the bogans are taking over and multiplying.
Those same bogans will be lapping up the budget real estate in a few years.
Just goes to show that there are still a lot of people in Australia that don't have a clue about the current or future economic situation.
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