Caravanning and Camping was the most popular holiday type for Australians in 2019, with 60 million holiday nights.

The newly released State of Industry 2020 Report from Caravan Industry Association of Australia lays out the past performance of Australia’s caravan and camping industry and highlights the opportunity for the industry to drive recovery.

In 2019, the total caravan and camping visitor nights exceeded 60 million and 14 million trips for the first time. When you reflect that there are 24.8 million Australians and 8.4 million households, caravan and camping holidays has become an integral part of our national travelling behaviour.

Without a doubt, the industry has recently been overshadowed by an uncertain world where a devastating bushfire season coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has firmly applied the brakes on what was an incredible period of growth for Australia’s caravan and camping industry.

To put this into context, since 2010 the market has grown by:

•     an additional 5.5 million caravan and camping trips;
•     an extra 17.3 million nights spent caravan and camping annually; and
•     over 196,000 recreational vehicles have been manufactured and registered.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO, Stuart Lamont, says that “Whilst looking back at 2019 may seem unimportant in the current climate, the year marked a number of important milestones for the industry”.

It is the year that according to Tourism Research Australia, caravan and camping became the most popular holiday type for Australians. This is no easy achievement when we consider the significant competitive nature of the tourism sector.

“Looking forward, we are optimistic about the future of the caravan and camping industry, especially as Australians look to support local business, reconnect with loved ones and spend time in nature after such a challenging year” Mr Lamont explained.

The State of Industry 2020 Report provides an important benchmark and highlights the importance of the caravan and camping sector to the performance of Australia’s visitor economy, bringing together the many different sectors and operating conditions relevant to the caravan and camping industry

Reflecting on the year prior helps to paint a picture as to the wide-reaching positive impact the industry has on Regional Australia and the Manufacturing Industry. The caravan and camping industry is incredibly well placed to drive tourism and economic recovery through encouraging job creation, creating strong value chains and supporting regional economies.