By Ellie Willcox

ABC Capricornia

Topic: Tourism and Leisure

Thu 23 Jul 2026 at 9:52am

Australia's biggest beef expo is having trouble finding enough places for people to stay.

In short:

The beef expo might have daily flights to help people get there because there aren't enough hotels.

Rockhampton will also host Olympic events and 15,000 people are expected to come.

What's next?

The city needs 1,200 more hotel rooms by 2032 to have enough space for visitors.

Daily flights to the beef expo are becoming a good option because there's a shortage of hotel rooms in Rockhampton.

Rockhampton is where the big beef expo happens, and it will also host Olympic rowing and canoe events.

About 55,000 people come to the beef expo every time it happens.

The expo provides temporary campsites to help with the lack of hotel rooms.

The beef expo is the biggest event for the beef industry in the Southern Hemisphere.

The tourism board says 1,200 more hotel rooms are needed in the area by 2032.

Right now, there are 2,500 hotel rooms with 4,600 beds in the area.

The last big hotel was built 10 years ago.

The CEO of the beef expo says finding hotel rooms is a big problem for the upcoming event.

55,000 people visit the expo in Rockhampton.

The expo is working with airlines to bring people in for day trips.

'Price gouging is terrible'

Some apartments in Rockhampton are being rented for $24,000 for the week of the expo.

The CEO of the tourism board says the high prices for hotel rooms are 'disgraceful'.

High prices for hotel rooms could hurt the event and the city's reputation.

Some hotel rooms in Rockhampton are being rented for $24,000 for the week of the expo.

'Steady demand' for rooms

15,000 people are expected to come to Rockhampton for the Olympics.

The mayor of Rockhampton hopes investors will build more hotels for the Olympics.

We need someone to invest in hotels because there are always people who want to stay.

A new place for athletes to stay is planned for the Olympics, but it's still in the planning stage.

Rowers are training on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton.

The mayor is happy that someone bought a hotel in Rockhampton for $5.75 million.

Investing in hotels shows that people believe in the city.

The tourism board is not sure what will happen to a big, old hotel in Yeppoon.

It's sad to see the old hotel get worse, but maybe someone will fix it up.

ABC Capricornia has local news.

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