Appendix A - Economic Impact Assessment.pdf

                                            Noosa Springs Luxury Hotel Economic Impact Assessment
                                                                                      Final Report

 COVID-19 Economic Recovery
 The development of the Noosa Springs Boutique Hotel will support economic recovery in Noosa in
 a number of ways. The construction phase will generate considerable employment locally.
 Furthermore, the development of Noosa’s first purpose built, luxury hotel since 1989 will
 generate new (or renewed) interest in visiting Noosa at a time when all borders should be open.
 The construction of a new nort-west/south-east runway was completed at the Sunshine Coast
 Airport in June 2020 and the remaining associated infrastructure is due for completion in late
 2020. The provision of a new luxury hotel in Noosa Springs will help to drive additional
 international visitation to the area through the new airport infrastructure. Traditionally, Noosa
 has relied upon the domestic overnight market and has never leveraged the high-end
 international market.



5.4 Impact on Existing Market
As highlighted in the supply audit, there is a lack of full-service and luxury accommodation product in
Noosa. This new luxury product is required to ensure Noosa achieves ‘value over volume’, as
expressed in the Tourism Strategy Noosa. Furthermore, the development of the Noosa Springs
Boutique Hotel fulfills another goal of the Tourism Strategy Noosa, ‘new and improved world-class
visitor experiences, events and accommodation’.
The Noosa Springs Boutique Hotel is expected to have 112 rooms, which makes up only 2.9% of the
total supply of short-stay accommodation. As such a small portion of the overall market, it is likely
that the impact of this development on the existing market will be minimal, particularly as this
product is geared toward the luxury traveller and there is only one establishment in the market that
provides a full-service, luxury hotel experience (i.e. Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort). This new product
will not be a detriment to the market.
As highlighted in Section 4 and referenced in the Tourism Strategy Noosa, the local market has a
current lack of accommodation rooms, particularly at the upper end of the market. While the COVID-
19 crisis has caused a significant drop off in demand, occupancy and revenues, Noosa is well placed
to benefit from future interstate markets (i.e. Victoria and New South Wales) that are expected to
open before international markets. Furthermore, once interstate borders are open, there is likely to
be pent up demand from visitors in these markets that either had an international or interstate trip
placed during the lockdown phases of the COVID-19 crisis.
The proposed hotel’s café and bar has been designed to largely service hotel guests and will not
affect the viability of any other restaurants or cafes.
Finally, the new Noosa Plan has made short-term letting of property in low density residential zones
an inconsistent land use and subject to a development approval. Under these new provisions, it is
unlikely that the properties offered through Airbnb and similar platforms will increase much further
than the current levels, hampering the future growth of short-stay accommodation supply further.
Considering these market dynamics, it is not surprising that a chronic shortage of accommodation
rooms will emerge in Noosa in 2022. Additional supply is required in order to facilitate the future
and on-going growth and vibrancy of the tourism sector in Noosa.
The planned Noosa Springs Boutique Hotel will not have any detrimental impact on the market, but
instead will complement and augment the existing market.




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