qdts-camping-options-toolkit

Year-round model
If the needs analysis identifies a year-round need, the
first option could be a caravan park. This would need to
be discussed with local stakeholders. If a caravan park is
not viable, a bush camp or basic camping ground manager
could be appointed; however, these costs would need to
be disclosed in the spirit of full-cost attribution. Then the
question arises as to whether or not there should be
a charge.
To charge or not to charge
• Honesty boxes in remote sites can work; however,
a compliance level of below 30% is expected.
• Online camping fees are becoming increasingly
expected, but these systems need significant
investment to work effectively.
• The fee charged is discretional, but could look to
cover the full operating costs (in a full-cost
attribution approach).
Implications
• This option addresses an important question raised
by many local governments on how to manage
outsourced camping arrangements.
• Outsourcing of management may provide a local
government with the ability to operate sites more
effectively where the cost of operation or approaches
to cost recovery put an unnecessary burden on the
local government resources.
• Having standard operating procedures, contract
arrangements and suggested fee structures will
make this process easier for local governments.
• Some organisations are resistant to outsourcing
models and this may be perceived negatively.
• Outsourcing arrangements have met with resistance
in the United States and some instances of poor
contract management have led to costly exercises,
resulting in the camping grounds returning to
government control.
Concept testing: Townsville camping grounds
Townsville City Council has previously attempted to
establish an outsourcing arrangement with a community
organisation. Through the development of a standard
operating procedure and contract terms and conditions,
they would be able to revisit this partnership. Some of
the key barriers in the Townsville situation that would
need to be directly addressed in the guidelines were
the administrative arrangements associated with fee
recovery, and agreement on management arrangements
and protocols.
Photo courtesy of CPAQ
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