All of Australia’s core caravan and camping international markets noted growth in visitor arrivals for the year ending September 2016.  Visitors from the United States showed the largest growth of 49% on the previous year, followed by the United Kingdom with a 13% increase and Germany with 10%.

Emerging international markets are also showing strong growth off the back of targeted campaigns in key Asian markets. Caravan and Camping visitors from China, although off a small base rate, increased by 54% on the previous year and Singapore showed substantial growth of 78%. 

Stuart Lamont, CEO of Caravan Industry Association of Australia, says, “This is a positive sign for the caravanning and camping industry as it continues to seek out ways to connect with these new consumers from markets that haven’t traditionally engaged with independent self-drive travel”.

In total, Australia welcomed 346,861 caravan and camping overnight visitors from 23 international markets for year ending September 2016, up 14% from the previous year and a return to growth for this period.  Interestingly, this increase is 3% higher than the broader national tourism trend for international visitors.

The changing dynamics in aviation, with new business models and routes opening, are helping to provide opportunities for Australia’s caravan and camping industry in terms of international visitors. New aviation routes and partnerships continue to reduce the cost barrier for our core markets to travel to Australia and are encouraging emerging markets to explore Australia’s diverse destinations. For example, 53% of all caravan and camping visitors are first time arrivals to Australia.

International visitors aged 20 to 29 years continue to represent the largest segment for the caravan and camping industry, accounting for 42% of visitors and 53% of all nights created in Australia for year-end September 2016.  This demographic represents an important market for tourism generally as they tend to stay for longer periods of time, spend more while they are here and travel wider into regional areas.  And when they like what they experience, they become excellent ambassadors for tourism in Australia with social sharing and peer-to-peer influence.

Media Release courtesy of Caravan Industry Association of Australia

16 December 2016