Program targets safety and wellbeing of visitors and residents
The safety and wellbeing of Scenic Rim residents and visitors to the region will be the focus of Council's Tourist Accommodation Safety Compliance Program.
Announced at today's Ordinary Meeting, the program has been launched in response to concerns raised by residents and tourism operators that a small percentage of accommodation providers in the region may pose a risk to the health and safety of visitors and the community.
Scenic Rim Deputy Mayor Jeff McConnell said that, while most camping grounds and accommodation providers met or exceeded Council's rigorous planning and safety requirements, the shortcomings of a minority not only jeopardised public health and safety but also the region's tourism reputation.
"This program should be welcomed by residents and the majority of our region's tourism operators as it aims to protect community safety and amenity as well as the significant investment by businesses and Council in building our region's tourism industry and destination brand," he said.
"Tourism is a key driver of our local economy and, based on pre-COVID statistics, contributes more than $215 million to our local economy through some 1.7 million visitors annually.
“Council and local tourism operators have worked diligently over many years to build the Scenic Rim’s reputation as a leading visitor destination, which has seen it ranked as number 50 in the top 100 global destinations in the Tourism Sentiment Index and named as one of Lonely Planet's Top 10 ‘must-visit’ regions in the world for 2022.
“No-one wants to see this hard-won reputation tarnished by the actions of a minority of operators who may not have the necessary approvals and may not meet the required standards of health, safety and community amenity.”
Concerns relating to tourist accommodation include:
• unhygienic facilities
• supplies of non-potable water
• unsafe buildings and structures
• fire safety and the installation of smoke alarms
• unfenced swimming pools
• road and access standards
• potential risks of flood, bushfire and landslides in some areas, and
• the impact on neighbours from noise, traffic and lack of privacy.
Issues over non-compliant tourism ventures were raised by concerned operators and presented to the Scenic Rim Tourism Advisory Committee, which formed a sub-committee in August 2019 to review non-compliant short-stay accommodation in the region.
With the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020 and Council’s Scenic Rim Regional Prosperity Strategy 2020-2025 supporting tourism growth, the number of camping grounds and accommodation providers has continued to increase in recent years.
The popularity of tourist parks for campers and caravanners has risen dramatically and, while the Planning Scheme allows for small-scale camping on certain large rural properties, all tourist parks, regardless of their size, must be licensed by Council's Health Services team.
The letting of complete dwellings to a single group, for example a holiday home, will not be within the scope of the program although it will consider 'party houses’, and bed and breakfast accommodation, which may require a shared facilities approval and a food licence.
Cr McConnell said Council was particularly concerned by the risks posed by unfenced swimming pools and accommodation which did not meet building or fire regulations.
“The Tourist Accommodation Safety Compliance Program aims to address these issues by raising operators’ awareness of their legal responsibilities,” he said.
“The program will be rolled out over four stages and will focus on community awareness through the delivery of communications activities, a comparison of information on accommodation websites against Council records, the prioritisation of risk, and site-based investigations by Council officers.
“All of this will help to ensure that everyone operating in this industry in our region does the right thing by visitors, our community and themselves.”