A Strategic Approach to the Caravan and Camping Industry 2012

Stop Flying Blind
Recommendation 9: Improve Data to Support Decision Making
Collect and analyse data to better understand market needs and visitation.
Resume collection and publication of ABS data on caravan parks and
campgrounds.
Produce and publish annual visitor profiles at a state level for the caravan and
camping sector.
Conduct research into the needs of new and emerging visitor segments and the
value of these visitors to Western Australia.
Maintain an up to date and accurate database of all caravan and camping
facilities (including licenced and unlicensed sites, dump points, DEC camps, rest
areas etc).
Issues and Risks
The Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS) Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) provided
results of a quarterly survey undertaken by the ABS to measure the demand and supply
of tourist accommodation. Funding for the inclusion of caravan parks and campgrounds
(part of the expanded scope component of the STA) ceased at the end of the June
quarter 2010 and the collection and publication of this data ceased.
Whilst the 2010 data will still be relevant for the next year or two, future studies and
development proposals will be significantly impacted on by the lack of availability of up to
date data. Reliable data is of utmost importance in financial modelling that proves up
investment opportunities and for the production of bankable feasibility and business case
studies. The lack of accurate statistical data will almost certainly inhibit future
development or improvements and limit access to borrowings.
It is noted that the extended scope is due to be reinstated going forward, however this
will be based on a sample rather than a census. This may result in unreliable data,
particularly at a Local Government Area level.
The only alternate source of caravan and camping visitation data is Tourism Research
Australia’s National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS), though the
small sample sizes for regional visitation makes this data largely unusable at a regional or
local area level.
Though data is collected by Tourism Research Australia, this is not reported on at a state
level for the caravan and camping sector in any real detail. At present to get a good
understanding of visitation in this sector, special reports must be requested (and paid for)
from Tourism Research Australia, data requested from Main Roads, old data collated
from ABS reports (no longer available) and pulled from Tourism Research Australia’s
regional profiles (where available).
There a lack of data at the State level regarding the nature and value of caravan and
camping visitors, especially emerging market segments such as the fully self-contained
visitor. There is little by the way of impartial research about the needs of fully selfcontained
travellers who predominantly utilise free and low cost camping options. There
is much conjecture over the value of these visitors to regional communities, though a lack
of quantifiable data on the return on investment in providing facilities to attract these
visitors. Planners and policy makers need to better understand this market to assess
what facilities should be provided, how we can best meet their needs, and what is the
most appropriate way to recover costs for the provision of these facilities.
An example of the type of anecdotal evidence for and against “free camping” that
exists in the market space due to a lack of reliable data:
CMCA asserts that when visiting towns, 97% of Self-Contained RV Tourists make
purchases when stopping in a town and that major purchases include $235 on
motoring needs including fuel and vehicle maintenance, $160 on living expenses such
as groceries and medical expenses, and $51 on accommodation costs (calculated per
week). 1 They state that: “The RV Friendly Town scheme has proven to be very
successful, especially in regional and rural areas, where the dollars spent by these Self-
Contained RV Tourists can make a huge difference to the local economy.” 1
Others suggest that attempts by Government to subsidise facilities to attract this
visitor segment do not result in quantifiable benefits to regional communities: “It's
always seemed to me to be a desperate ploy to think you are going to make money out
of people who don't want to spend it! Certainly what we've observed in Kalgoorlie
both pre & post the CMHA rally a month or so back is that the preponderance of
miserly people amongst them is much higher… but having made Kalgoorlie "CV/MHfriendly"
we're not actually sure what the benefit is…those of us who thought it would
bring us some more business are scratching our heads…. if you are a struggling country
town, don't think you're going to make much money out of nomads by providing them
with free camping…Paul, Kalgoorlie” 1
A Strategic Approach to Caravan and Camping Tourism in Western Australia Page 104