Business
27 September, 2026
Small businesses wilt as tulip festival blooms
Wingecarribee Shire Council may be reaping a huge profit from Tulip Time – but local businesses say they are still missing out.
Wingecarribee Shire Council may be reaping a huge profit from Tulip Time – but local businesses say they are still missing out.
As reported by The Southern Wire, the festival’s net operating result increased from $180,125 in 2023/24 to $793,767 in 2025/26.
However some businesses say Tulip Time is one of their worst times of the year – with sales down by as much as 40 per cent – because visitors don’t venture far beyond Corbett Gardens and local residents tend to stay at home because parking spots are so hard to find.
Elena Privalova from fashion store Ecolena Bowral in Bong Bong Street said she wasn’t against Tulip Time and “absolutely” wanted the festival to continue.
“The problem isn’t the tulips,” Ms Privalova said.
“The problem is what Tulip Time has become.”
Ms Privalova said years ago people came to Bowral to see the tulips and then walked into Bowral’s town centre.
“They had lunch in our cafes, browsed our shops and spent money with the local businesses that are here 52 weeks of the year.
“We used to have fantastic Tulip Time trading,” she said.
“Then the festival became commercialised.
“Now visitors can find rows of commercial stalls inside the festival itself – food, drinks and shopping – giving them far less reason to walk into town and support the businesses already here.”
Ms Privalova said taking a stall in Corbett Gardens would mean paying for another space, finding additional staff and carrying extra costs – while continuing to pay for and staff the shop in Bong Bong Street.
“We cannot operate two businesses for three weeks simply to compete with a festival happening in our town,” she said.
Ms Privalova said council needed to work with the businesses that keep Bowral alive all year round.
“Local businesses pay rent here 52 weeks of the year. We employ local people. We support our community. We keep Bowral’s cafés, shops and streets alive long after the tulips have disappeared.
“We are asking for a festival model that encourages thousands of visitors to explore Bowral, eat in our cafes and shop in our stores – instead of concentrating their spending inside the festival grounds.”
She encouraged Tulip Time visitors to “please take a walk through Bowral too”.
“Have a coffee. Have lunch. Visit a local shop. Even a small purchase makes a difference.”
Facebook users agreed and said the festival needed to go back to what it used to be and without the stalls – particularly given that most of the stallholders are from out of town.
One woman who has just moved to the area said the stalls were “not good for local businesses and frankly it cheapens the look of the beautiful garden”.
One coffee shop owner told The Southern Wire on Saturday morning that trade was up – but it hadn’t been as busy as last year and he was hoping for things to pick up.
He said he was disappointed that coffee was being sold inside Corbett Gardens.
“Council should be looking after the ratepayers,” he said.
If coffee wasn’t being sold inside Corbett Gardens he said visitors would have more reason to get out and explore the town centre.
Other residents have expressed disappointment over the state of Bowral’s main street and the timing of water main replacement works.
Leisa Tozer said “8-foot cages” were hiding most of the retail shops down one side of the street.
“Although I know a lot of our local small businesses don’t see a lot of that (Tulip Time) spend by the tourists, this work is now guaranteeing these shops will see no benefit from the extra spend in our town.”
Other residents agreed, describing Bong Street as a “war zone” and said the timing of the works during Tulip Time could only be the result of “poor management”.
“All the work taking place in the main street at the moment not only ruins the lovely look and feel of Bowral but it also reduces the already limited amount of carparking spaces available,” Kelly Lees said.
“It’s nothing short of ugly and idiotic during Tulip Time – our most popular and busy time of the year.”
A number of people said Wingecarribee Shire Council could learn a thing or two from Camden Council about beautifying the town at certain times of the year.
A recent strategic review of Tulip Time conducted by event strategy consultant The Destination Agency found the event was in a strong position with high attendance strong brand recognition and good financial returns to council.
But according to a staff report prepared for the recent council meeting, the festival’s continued success would depend on “a more deliberate focus on long-term site health, community and business connection and stronger evidence about the event’s broader economic and social impact”.
“A key finding of the review was that future success should not be measured by attendance alone,” the staff report said.
“Corbett Gardens remains the heart of Tulip Time and a key point of difference from large floral events.
“The review identified the importance of protecting the quality and intimacy of the core visitor experience while creating stronger connections between the event, Bowral town centre and the broader Southern Highlands,” the report said.
The review found community connection to the event had deteriorated and was increasingly being seen by many local residents “as something that happens in Bowral rather than something that belongs to Bowral”.
“This drift risks eroding the social licence and local advocacy that underpin the event’s ability to operate in the first place,” it found.
One of the suggested actions in the review is to “rethink (the) Corbett Gardens event footprint to connect more to Bong Bong Street and the railway station”.
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