With mining booms every few years, the fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in-drive-out (DIDO) market also booms. Those who own accommodation properties in key areas will benefit during the boom times. Townsville is one such location.<\/p>\n
FIFO workers come from all walks of life and operate in most industries. Most FIFO workers fall into the 35-54 years age group. Jobs for FIFO workers are diverse: health worker, road train operator, kitchen worker, metallurgist, mine planning engineer and solar farm workers.<\/p>\n
Although FIFO workers exist in many sectors, it\u2019s in mining that the phenomenon has become known. Most mines are located in remote areas or at least near small towns that don\u2019t offer many diversions. So mine operators, in particular, try to sweeten the deal by offering to base workers at a larger town or city and flying them in and out for set periods.<\/p>\n
When mining operations ramp up dramatically during the good times, there\u2019s never enough decent accommodation to cater for the large influx of extra workers required. During the last major boom, many workers lived for months at a time in a \u2018donga\u2019 that, if you\u2019re lucky, is a demountable or, if you aren\u2019t as fortunate, a shipping container.<\/p>\n
Even so, dongas are highly prized. As you can imagine, after a schedule of 12-hour days, usually in punishing heat, it\u2019s good to look forward to a comfortable bed and air conditioning.<\/p>\n
Smart accommodation property owners and operators, however, ensure their properties attract other business travellers and holidaymakers, too.<\/p>\n
Townsville is an attractive destination for business, education and tourism. As the largest city in North Queensland, it\u2019s the gateway to Queensland mining and agricultural regions as well as to Papua New Guinea and Asia.<\/p>\n
When the mining FIFO numbers dwindle, accommodation providers can rely on solar farm FIFO workers or even workers from nearby resort islands (Bedarra, Dunk and Orpheus) visiting for rest and relaxation.<\/p>\n
The tropical lifestyle and proximity to Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef are attractive to visitors and potential residents alike.<\/p>\n
And besides\u00a0FIFO or DIDO workers, the city offers many opportunities for accommodation providers.<\/p>\n
In the general region (including Hinchinbrook), average spend for a trip for domestic visitors is $775 for 4 nights. International visitors tend to pay a lower nightly rate but stay longer with an average spend per trip of $860.<\/p>\n
Townsville has a wide range of accommodation seekers<\/b><\/p>\n
James Cook University<\/b><\/a>\u00a0is home not only to domestic students but also students from overseas. Many of the latter group will be visiting for a short time and need temporary or full-time accommodation. Visiting academics can\u2019t always be accommodated on campus.<\/p>\n CQUniversity<\/b><\/a>\u00a0offers many courses aimed at overseas students or potential immigrants who need specific qualifications for residency.<\/p>\n Many students, whether from overseas or interstate, are studying for shorter periods and can\u2019t afford to set up a household. Savvy accommodation owners could partner with either institution to offer medium-term accommodation.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Australian Institute of Marine Science (<\/b>AIMS<\/b><\/a>)<\/b>\u00a0is home to the National Sea Simulator (SeaSim), which attracts both interstate and international researchers.<\/p>\n Lavarack Barracks<\/b><\/a>\u00a0army base,\u00a0<\/b>one of\u00a0the Australian Defence Force\u2019s largest bases, has the potential for partnerships offering short-term accommodation to newly arrived military and their families.<\/p>\n The\u00a0RAAF Base Townsville<\/b><\/a>\u00a0is home to several squadrons. As well as combat survival training and overseas deployment, the staff are responsible for search and rescue and humanitarian support. For the latter duties, they\u2019re liaising with members of other organisations \u2013 and they need to stay somewhere when they can\u2019t be housed on the base.<\/p>\n Townsville\u2019s emerging film industry<\/b><\/a>\u00a0and other creative industries \u2013 all of which bring visitors and workers to the city \u2013 are actively supported by the City of Townsville council.<\/p>\n Backpackers<\/b>\u00a0flock to Townsville as the ideal starting point for seeking farm work in Queensland to fulfil their visa obligations if they wish to extend their stay. Most are housed in dedicated\u00a0backpacker accommodation<\/a>. However, older backpackers or digital nomads prefer non-dorm accommodation so look to lower-end hotels, motels and guesthouses.<\/p>\n The new North Queensland stadium is due for completion in time for the 2020 NRL season. As well as Rugby League games, the stadium will host other sporting, cultural and community events.<\/p>\n In December 2018, approval and funding was granted for the critical\u00a0Haughton Pipeline duplication<\/a>. Funding also came through for other infrastructure projects that require specialist workers from out of the region.<\/p>\n Accommodation providers in Townsville are be perfectly positioned not only to take advantage of everyday opportunities but also to capitalise on the next FIFO\/DIDO accommodation boom. Talk to us if you want more information on properties in this exciting region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With mining booms every few years, the fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in-drive-out (DIDO) market also booms. Those who own accommodation properties in key areas will benefit during the boom times. Townsville is one such location. About FIFO\/DIDO workers FIFO workers come from all walks of life and operate in most industries. Most FIFO workers fall into the 35-54 years age group. Jobs for FIFO workers are diverse: health worker, road train operator, kitchen worker, metallurgist, mine planning engineer and solar farm workers. Although FIFO workers exist in many sectors, it\u2019s in mining that the phenomenon has become known. Most mines are located in remote areas orRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":1240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[15,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1241,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1239\/revisions\/1241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Construction in and around Townsville<\/b><\/h2>\n
Be poised for the next boom<\/b><\/h2>\n