I added a comment in the recent Touring Eyre Peninsula post that the Townsville City Council was reviewing the running of the free camp sites in their area - there was a suggestion that a fee would be incurred.

In today's Bulletin, there is a headline "Online booking system for Townsville's free campsites". Here is an abbreviated version of what was written.

Council is opting for a non-commercial RV & camping site operational plan - recommendations around signage, amenities, management & regulation "intended to improve the management of sites & address any amenity impacts on adjoining residents".

They acknowledge the rapid growth in the RV market over the past decade & a "substantial increase" for low cost camping in Qld.

The Deputy Mayor said council run campsites attracted 5000 visitors & injected more than $500,000 into the community in 2014. With Magnetic Island voted as the most instagrammable location in Australia, we want to show off more of our glorious region. The new booking system would have long term benefits - a simpler, faster process will make a tourist's trip to Townsville more enjoyable from the outset, he said.

So over to the visitors to Townsville this tourist system!