Caloundra Chamber of Commerce Feb Newsletter

It’s hard to believe that we’re already into the second week of February. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were celebrating the Festive Season, enjoying a start to the New Year and lapping up the best of Summer in the greatest place in the world?
January flew by for so many reasons - but for the team at the Chamber, it was mostly because we spent January planning and preparing for an exciting 2025.

While we’re looking forward to creating some exciting new opportunities for our members and community this year, our mission remains steadfast: to connect, inspirate and advocate.

We’ve already welcomed 6 new members since the start of the year and we’ve been part of a number of community and business focused activities. But, there will be lots more on the calendar this year, so stay tuned.

I do encourage you to mark the date in your diary for our next #CoffeeinCaloundra catch up and to take the time out to meet with fellow members – old and new. You never know where a chat over a cuppa can take you and your business.

We’ll be sharing more about our exciting plans in future issues of this newsletter. We can’t wait to have you and your team join us as we focus on thriving together in 2025. Let’s continue to #MakeCaloundraGreat.

Warm regards,
Let's thrive together in 2025!
We know it was crowded at the beach. We know that there were lots of interstate number plates. We know that it was harder to get a carpark wherever you went – but what did the holiday period bring to the Sunshine Coast?

For starters, we had more than 330,000 visitors staying overnight on the Sunshine Coast in December 2024 alone. 

While this was 50,000 more visitors than we had in November 2024, it was 1.9% less than the year prior.

In terms of our source markets for December 2024, we saw:
· QLD visitors, 2.7% decline 
· NSW visitors, 3.8% increase 
· VIC visitors, 2.8% increase 
· SA visitors, 4.8% increase
Hotel occupancy for December also averaged 71%, which was on par with the year prior. For that period, the Average Daily Rates showed a 2% increase and averaged $324 / room per night. 

What does this mean? 

Well, in short, it was encouraging to see more interstate visitors coming up to spend time on the Sunshine Coast as they generally stay longer and spend more when they’re holidaying here. 
90-day Performance Outlook
Looking ahead, our STR Forward Star report shows:
• January hotel occupancy is pretty much on par with bookings at the same time last year
• Occupancies remain strong until after Australia Day
• • At present, forward bookings for February are a little softer than compared to last year, but they do pick up towards the end of the month.
Looking Back at 2024
Looking at Caloundra overall and when comparing the last 12 months with the previous 12 months, Caloundra has outperformed the SC LGA across all expenditure areas. Have a look at the table below which compares Caloundra's expenditure to the SC LGA.
This table illustrates that Caloundra has performed well across all areas. The primary areas for improvement involve retaining Resident Internal Escape Spend and Resident Online Spend - which short, means reducing the amount of money that leaves Caloundra by focussing on providing these offerings locally. 

The below charts demonstrate the spend categories where the Resident Internal Escape Spend and Resident Online Spend has been distributed over the last 12 months.
So, what does this mean for you and your business?
In short, the leakage of money out of 4551 has been significantly reduced because your businesses are now offering services locally in 4551 that were not previously available. The Chamber will continue to monitor these statistics and monitor leakage areas in 4551 and we’ll keep you updated!
Homeless and Anti-Social Behaviour
In late December, a dedicated working group was formed, consisting of local businesses, key business leaders, the Council, Queensland Police, and the Chamber of Commerce. The group was created to address the ongoing homelessness situation and the accompanying anti-social behaviour in downtown Caloundra, ensuring that businesses can continue to operate smoothly while also addressing this critical issue with compassion and care. The Chamber will continue to work with businesses, Queensland Police and Council to ensure that business an operate safely.
What we can do