Pet-friendly push

Noosa dog owners celebrate Noosa Marina as Noosa comes of age as a pet friendly destination. From left, Suzanne Wright with Polly and Millie, Juliette Hicks with Kenzie, Robert Ciccotto with Ted, Stella McMahon with Sebastian, Lucille Critchley with Coco and Robert Wright.

Geoff Potter

Related links

• Come stay, and bring your dog!
• Good money in holidays with pets

A LONGTIME bid to make Noosa pet-friendly has a new voice as the Sunshine Coast's peak tourism body announces plans to roll out the best fur-friendly welcome in the state.

Passionate advocates like Suzanne Wright have long been behind a push to make Noosa's entertainment precinct as equally attractive to those with furry companions as it is to those without.

Now the campaign is set to get some serious momentum with the coast's outgoing mayor Bob Abbot and Sunshine Coast Destinations uniting forces behind a push to tap into a tourism market they say is worth "millions".

Recent surveys show one in five tourists would bring their dog or cat with them if they had a pet-friendly place to stay.

Already almost 180 places on the Coast promote themselves as pet-friendly.

The operators say their business has surged since they advertised the fact that they allowed dogs.

Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot has shown where his heart lies, saying he not only loves to take Toby out for a cuppa but is also planning a Central Queensland pet-friendly holiday.

"It is a market which is certainly growing and one we should be considering," Cr Abbot said.

Cr Abbot said the council was still reviewing its rules governing dogs on beaches.

"We have got to get places where dogs can go and places where people can go without dogs," he said.

Earlier this week Tewantin "grey nomad" Debbie Baldwin said she and her husband find it difficult to return home for the occasional visit in their caravan because of their fellow companion, a poodle.

"There is nowhere on the Sunshine Coast from Noosa to Caloundra that will take a pet in a caravan park," Ms Baldwin said in a letter to the Noosa News.

"Now there are quite a lot of us nomads out there who travel with their pets and the Sunshine Coast is missing out on a lot of tourist dollars."

Pet-friendly advocate Suzanne Wright said Noosa needed all the help it could get in attracting visitors.

"Councils and governments just need to put some guidelines in place and then allow the businesses to work out how to best service their clients," Ms Wright said.

"Noosa needs customer service not restrictions."

Boreen Point Campground park manager Steven Young said it was out of the question for his camp ground to become pet-friendly despite it being nominated by some residents as a possible option.

"This spectacular piece of the Noosa Biosphere has a unique biodiversity of plants, birds and wildlife, visited by nature lovers from around the world," Mr Young said in a letter to the Noosa News.

One whose business has boomed because of the welcome extended to four-legged family member for the last six years is Warren Smith at Noosa Marina.

"On average 20 to 30 people and their companions, per day can be seen enjoying breakfast, lunch or simply the morning coffee," Mr Smith said.

Tourism Noosa Marketing and Media Director Diane Ainsworth said as a pet owner, she put her hand up right alongside Mayor Abbot as a pet-friendly seeking accommodation tenant.

But Ms Ainsworth said there was a definite need for balance with there being just as many Noosa holidaymakers looking for pet-free zones.

"Obviously at places like the Sheraton and the Outrigger it just wouldn't work," Ms Ainsworth said.

"People are passionate about their pets but there are those who are equally as passionate about not having their holiday interrupted by other people's pets."