Caravan Industry Association of Australia: Caravan & Camping Visitor Economy Monitor
The Caravan Industry Association of Australia recently shared their inaugural issue of the Caravan & Camping Visitor Economy Monitor. In this new monthly monitor, they have consolidated essential information, including monthly accommodation reports, monthly visitor economy performance from Tourism Research Australia, Google Trend data, visitor movement patterns and relevant economic indicators.
Caravan Park Growth on Back of Demand for Northern Australia Experiences
August 2023
The latest caravan park accommodation data shows growth in performance indicators across all site types. National cabin occupancy was recorded at 58%, up from 56% the previous year. Results for powered and unpowered sites were equally positive, with occupancy rates increasing to 51% (+4 ppts) and 18% (+7 ppts) respectively.
Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia returned the strongest results as caravan and campers sought warmer temperatures in Northern States. New South Wales was the only Southern States recording increased occupancy rates across site types, while results for sites in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria were mixed.
On a tourism region level, Queensland dominated the top ten rankings for cabin and powered site occupancies. Whitsundays recorded the strongest cabin occupancy rate, at 87%, followed by Central NSW (83%) and Capricorn (81%). In term of powered sites, Sunshine Coast had the highest occupancy, at 96%. Next were Whitsundays (93%) and Capricorn (91%).
Download Tourism Region Report
Consumer Interest in Caravan & Camping Travel
August 2023
At the end of August 2023, interest of Australians for caravan and camping averaged at 41 index points based on Google Trend data. This was below August 2022’s level of 43 points and 2 points above last month’s result.
Trend data indicates that search interest peaks during holiday periods, which explains the current lower level. Nonetheless, analysis since January 2020 shows a downward trend in search interest over time. This is likely a result of households focusing on reducing non-discretionary expenses such as travel in the wake of the ongoing cost-of-living crunch.
Caravan and Camping Outperforms Accommodation Sector
June 2023
Latest data provided by Tourism Research Australia shows that more than 1 million Australians went caravan and camping in June 2023, generating more than 4.3 million nights. This was an increase of 18% in visitors and 36% in nights compared to the previous year. In comparison, total visitor numbers of the accommodation sector grew by 2% and decreased by 2% for nights. This demonstrates the strong appeal of caravan and camping to Australian consumers despite the challenging economic environment.
Winter Migration Surges To Record Height
June 2023
The increase has softened the downward trend observed since the outbreak of COVID-19 when state border closures and the loss of north/south migration markets led to a decline in average distance travelled.
High Satisfaction With Caravan Park Accommodation
August 2023
Drawing upon 14,411 online reviews collected by Shiji ReviewPro for 1,000 caravan parks, 83% of guests leaving a review had a positive experience staying at a caravan park, resulting in a Global Review Index(TM)* of 85.8%. This was 0.8 ppts above last year’s score.
*GRI is calculated by an algorithm that generates a numerical score from 0 to 100 and is based on the overall score of a review. Refer to https://go.reviewpro.com/s/article/What-is-the-Global-Review-Index?language=en_US
Caravan Industry Business Sentiment Report
July 2023
Insights are collected from industry businesses on their operational performance over the previous six months, and their outlook for the next. Special issues relating to the economy and business topics are explored including supply chains, energy and employment.
Consumer Sentiment Remains Low
12 September 2023
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped 1.1 points to 77.6 this week despite the RBA keeping the cash rate on hold in the September meeting. The index has been 28 weeks (6+ months) below the mark of 80, marking a new record. Consumer Confidence is 8.1 points below the same week last year and below the 2023 weekly average of 78.1. While Consumer Confidence was down in Victoria and South Australia, it was slightly up in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Driving the index’s fall this week was a decline in long-term financial confidence, with most (55%) Australians saying their household was ‘worse off’ financially compared to last year. Future sentiment remains weak, with under one third (30%) of Australians expecting to be ‘better off’ financially over the next 12 months. Similarly low is confidence in the strength of the Australian economy, with 36% of Australians expecting ‘bad times’ for the economy over the next 12 months and 23% expecting ‘bad times’ over the next five years. Sentiment about buying a major household item has improved slightly, although the majority (53%) feels it is a ‘bad time to buy’.
Source: Caravan Industry Association of Australia
