A strategic plan for Surfside and Shipwreck holiday parks is well advanced, the council says, with a draft strategy scheduled to come before the new councillors in the first half of 2021.

The draft plan has been in the works since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the council says the underlying principles and direction remain valid.

The implementation of the strategic plan will review how to better use the two sites to drive greater social and economic returns for the community.

It will look at how to maintain and strengthen the holiday parks' appeal which centres around providing a traditional, affordable beach holiday.

There would also be a push to broaden target markets, particularly outside peak periods.

The demand for larger spaces is also being reviewed and the council has flagged a potential trial for larger locations to be carried out.

But it says this trial won't happen this summer.

The council last week announced it was rolling out a ballot to select holidaymakers who had booked for this summer, limiting the number of people at the site to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

The city's caravan parks have been a big moneyspinner for the council, making a $1.011 million profit in the 2018-19 financial year.

Those profits took a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic State Government-imposed restrictions which shut out Easter holidaymakers.

This financial year it is forecast to make a $358,000 loss due to the pandemic with fees alone set to drop by more than $1 million - from about $2.6 million to about $1.3 million.

When the budget forecast was released earlier this year, the council's director of corporate strategies Peter Utri said it made allowances for the impact of the pandemic to stretch into December.

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