As drought again takes hold in parts of Australia, the nation’s largest landsharing website, Youcamp.com, has called on governments of all levels to recognise that opening up private land to tourism is a way to future proof regional Australia.
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Youcamp.com, which allows farmers and landholders to open their land to paying tourists is a way for private property owners to join in the profits from the emerging share economy. Hosts are able to list not just accommodation but also activities such as farm tours and any of the other countless types of “adventures” available on private land. Youcamp is the Airbnb of the outdoors and Airbnb for farmers.
Many Youcamp hosts are discovering that setting up boutique tourism businesses is a way to not just supplement much needed on-farm income but also to create sustainable private land enterprises that are not subject to the vagaries of climate change. By bringing city Australians onto farms as visitors, it also creates a window into the lives of rural landholders and the challenges that they face. Many Youcamp guests are also coming to realise that some of the best and most spectacular campsites are actually on private land. In addition, many of the camping, glamping and other options listed on the website offer travellers much greater privacy and choice compared to national parks. For example, many Youcamp properties allow guests to bring their dogs and horses.
And it is not just the landholders who benefit. While visiting regional Australia, guests also spend money in communities that they may not otherwise be able to visit.
“While private land camping is legal across all of Australia,” says Youcamp co-founder, James Woodford, “some governments make the process of approval excessively onerous and expensive. We want to see more state and local governments follow the lead of more progressive councils such as Temora and Noosa, which are embracing the opportunities land sharing provides.”
“It is not about replacing existing camping and accommodation options but rather creating a much greater mix. One of our mottos is that landholders should not just be farming sheep and wheat but also people.”
“We literally get feedback that innovative ways, such as this, to make extra money from the share economy enables some families to stay on the land and provide employment opportunities for their children
“We are also calling on city-based Australians to help their regional cousins by choosing a farm-based escape rather than heading to Bali.”
Australians might be clustering in the rapidly growing capitals, but it seems they are also increasingly yearning for short breaks beyond big city limits.
Key points:
- Airbnb says 56 per cent of all guest arrivals in 2017 across Australia were to listings outside the major cities
- Ron Hellyer's family home in Broken Hill has never been empty since its listing on Airbnb
- The Tasmanian Hospitality Association says growth in Airbnb listings has had positive and negative effects
- New data released by the global accommodation giant Airbnb show half the platform's listings in Australia are now outside major cities.
- The company's manager for Australia and New Zealand, Sam McDonagh, said Airbnb is now an "economic lifeline" for many in the bush.
- "Airbnb's supporting more than 4,000 local jobs in regional communities," he said.
- "Without the cost or delay of building any new hotels, Airbnb has made regional Australia more accessible and affordable than ever before."
- According to a Deloitte report, Airbnb accommodated 2.1 million people across Australia in the 2015-16 financial year.
- Airbnb says 56 per cent of all guest arrivals in 2017 across Australia were to listings outside the major cities.
- Ron Hellyer, whose family home in Broken Hill in far western NSW is listed on Airbnb, said demand is strong. "We haven't been empty since we listed. We have a combination of tourists and visitors — people on planes, trains and automobiles," he said."The majority of the Australian contingent absolutely don't like coming out here for a period of time looking at the four walls of a motel, and they absolutely want to know why you live where you live."
Regulations need to catch up: hotel industry
The flip side of Airbnb's expansion into regional areas has been increased competition for tourist dollars.
In NSW, the company's growth areas include Byron Bay, Nowra, Newcastle and Wollongong, while in Victoria the number of listings has grown along the Great Ocean Road.
In Queensland there are new listings popping up on the Gold Coast and in Far North Queensland, while growth in South Australia has been in Robe and Kingscote, and in Margaret River and Albany in WA.
Steve Old, from the Tasmanian Hospitality Association, said growth in Airbnb listings has had positive and negative effects.
"Airbnb brings not only some negatives for some of our hotel operators, it also brings positives to our restaurants and cafes," Mr Old said.
"But what's happening in parts of regional Tasmania at the moment is you've got operators struggling with all the regulations they're faced with.
"And then you've got other operators letting out their venues on Airbnb that are not paying the same regulatory costs."
"There's very much an uneven playing field and we've got to make sure we deal with that."
