Tourism body slams 'disgusting price gouging' for beef expo beds

Daily charter flights to Australia's biggest beef expo are becoming a "reasonable option" for attendees, as an accommodation shortage grips a regional city also chosen to host events for the 2032 Olympic Games.The Central Queensland city of Rockhampton is home to the triannual Beef Australia industry showcase and has also been selected to host rowing and canoe sprint events on the Fitzroy River for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.The week-long beef expo attracts about 55,000 people who visit the event multiple times during the week.Organisers provide hundreds of temporary campsites near the showgrounds to help ease the accommodation issue.Beef Australia is the largest beef industry event in the Southern Hemisphere. (Supplied: Beef Australia)Tourism body Capricorn Enterprise said 1,200 short-term accommodation rooms would be needed in the Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast region by 2032 to meet current and future demand.It said the region had 2,500 commercial rooms offering 4,600 beds.The last major hotel built in the region opened a decade ago.Beef Australia CEO Simon Irwin said accommodation was a major challenge for its upcoming expo in May 2027, the largest beef industry event in the Southern Hemisphere.About 55,000 visitors attend the event in Rockhampton. (Supplied: Beef Australia)"We are working with air charter operators to bring people down from Townsville, up from Toowoomba and in from Longreach just for day trips," Mr Irwin said."Because now, chartering a plane due to the scarcity and the cost of accommodation is a quite reasonable option for a lot of people."'Price gouging disgraceful'Some apartments and homes in Rockhampton are currently being advertised for rent for $24,000 for the week of the beef expo, while some properties at nearby Yeppoon are advertised for $13,000."People get carried away. They see something up for $40,000 for the week and the reason you're seeing it is no-one has taken it," Mr Irwin said.Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll said the "price gouging" of some accommodation properties for the event was "disgraceful"."[It's] jeopardising the event as well as the reputation of our city and greater region," she said."A premium price during a major event is expected and accepted, but not three times the normal rate and higher."Some accommodation in Rockhampton is being advertised for rent for $24,000 for the week of the beef expo. (Supplied: Beef Australia)'Consistent' demand for roomsAbout 15,000 spectators are expected to come to the city for the Olympics.Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said he hoped developers and hoteliers would see the 2032 Games as a "great opportunity to invest"."We need an investor to come in and build the infrastructure … there is a consistent demand there," he said.A new Athlete Village for the Olympics is proposed to be built at the Rockhampton Railyards, with works still in the planning and approvals stage.Rowers head out for an early morning training session on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton. (ABC: Alice Roberts)Cr Williams said although he was unaware of the buyer's plans, it was encouraging to see the recent $5.75 million sale of Rockhampton's rundown 66-room Plaza Hotel."Rather than seeing derelict buildings sit there idle and become issues, that investment is confidence that there is something happening," he said.Ms Carroll said she was unaware of any concrete plans by Iwasaki Pty Ltd for the future of its derelict 331-room Capricorn Resort at Yeppoon, which closed in 2016."It's heartbreaking to see the deterioration of this once iconic resort, which could be subdivided from the 22,000-acre cattle property, for a hotel investor to develop into a world-class ecotourism development."