The Economic Value of the Australian Caravan and Camping Trade Industry report by Caravan Industry Association of Australia has revealed the revenue generated by the caravan and camping trade industries (not including caravan parks’ profits or money spent by visitors) is approximately $4.5 billion each year.
The trade sector is comprised of manufacturers, dealerships, parts and accessories retailers, service and repair businesses as well as RV storage facilities and camping equipment retailers.
In general, 2017 was a solid year for the Australian Caravan and Camping Industry with 22,381 vehicles manufactured; the second largest year for manufacturing since 1980.
As of January 2017, there were 647,319 recreational vehicles registered – the highest number since records began.
The sector made up more than 21,000 full time jobs across 4,300 trade businesses in Australia.
These figures demonstrate not only the extensive supply chain within the caravan trade industry, but also its value to the Australian economy.
When broken down by sector, caravan and motorhome manufacturers employ 4133 people across Australia.
The next largest segment by employment is camping equipment retailers, employing 3987 people.
In terms of dealerships -which generated more than half of the trade industry’s revenue- Queensland totalled the most nationally with 151 trade businesses.
In addition, visitor expenditure by caravan and campers exceeded $8.6 billion and caravan park revenue was estimated at $2.1 billion for the year.
All in all, the industry as a whole is estimated to be worth $20.4 billion annually to Australia.
The caravan and camping sector is also pivotal to Australian tourism as it facilitates the dispersal of visitors and employment throughout Australia.
A staggering 90% of visitor expenditure comes from regional Australia, with the majority of industry businesses located outside of urban centres. This also provides jobs and allows the visitor economy to flourish in all corners of the country.
In 2017, the caravan and camping industry welcomed nearly 400,000 international visitors and more than 11.9M domestic trips.
In total, this was a combined 57 million nights caravan and camping in Australia.
Media Release; 5 June 2018
Caravan Industry Association of Australia
