More Aussies holidaying on the road

nizi

Some types of holiday accommodation in Australia are suffering from lower occupancy rates, while figures show a rise in the use of caravans among domestic vacationers.

According to figures from the Recreational Vehicle Manufacturers Association of Australia (RVMAA), more Australians are holidaying on the road than ever before.

The total number of recreational vehicles manufactured over the 2009-2010 financial year grew 18.4 per cent to meet a substantial increase in consumer demand.

Camper trailer and caravan manufacturing figures increased by 28.4 per cent and 20.9 per cent respectively, showing some of the strongest growth in the entire Australian manufacturing sector in the wake of the global financial crisis (GFC).

With more Australians taking to the road to holiday, using caravans as their accommodation, that could be having an impact on other types of holiday accommodation in the country.

However, more Australians are believed to be holidaying domestically rather than going overseas which is good news for those investors with properties providing holiday accommodation.

RVMAA president Richard Raven says strong growth in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles is due to Australians increasingly seeing more value in holidaying at home than travelling abroad.

"Fluctuating currencies and expensive airfares are making Australia a much more attractive travel destination than ever before," he says.

The increase in consumer demand for the caravanning lifestyle contributed to the caravan and holiday park industry exceeding $250 million in revenue in the March quarter, for the first time in history.

Caravan, RV and Accommodation Industry of Australia (CRVA) chief executive officer Ben Yates says the strong financial and manufacturing figures demonstrate just how resilient the caravan and holiday park industry is, in light of the GFC.

"Our industry has proven that it's practically recession proof," he says. "In the midst of shrinking revenue levels across the board in almost all of our competitor markets, the caravanning and holiday park industry continues to boom."

Yates doesn't know whether the booming numbers in the caravan industry would be having a direct impact on other tourism sectors such as holiday homes, but he notes that there's been flat growth in other tourism industries compared to growth of 8.7 per cent in revenue for the caravan and holiday park industry over the year ending March 2010.