CAMPING ON THE RISE
Internationalanddomestictouristsareheadingoutcampingmore thaneverbefore
BOTH AUSTRALIANS and international
visitors are hitting the road and going camping
more than ever before, according to new
figures from Tourism Research Australia.
The data reveals 377,000 international
visitors chose to see Australia’s great outdoors
in the year ending March 2019, a 7 per cent
jump from the previous year.
The millennial market, led by working
holiday makers and backpackers, continues
to be the strongest age demographic with
157,000 international visitors aged 20 to
29 choosing caravanning and camping in
Australia.
Following that was 127,000 international
visitors in the 30 to 54 year-old age group,
then 73,000 visitors aged 55 plus.
Queensland was the most popular state
amongst international visitors, with 132,000
visitors spending 1.6 million nights in the
sunshine state. NSW was close behind with129,000 international visitors and Victoria had
91,000, with a big increase of 5 per cent from
the previous year.
Phillip Island experienced monster growth,
up 39.1 percent, with six other hotspots in
Victoria recording double-digit rises: Gippsland
(17.1 per cent), Goldfields (16.8 per cent),
Murray (16.2 per cent), Mornington Peninsula
(13.6 per cent), Geelong/Bellarine (11.4 per
cent) and Great Ocean Road (10.9 per cent).
Chinese visitors continue to lead the charge
to Victoria with almost 680,000 visitors in the
past year. Total spending by Chinese tourists
was $3.2 billion.
Meanwhile, domestic visitors collectively
spent 54.5 million nights camping for the year.
That represents a 6.5 per cent increase on- Making up those nights were 12.9 million
individual camping trips, an 8.5 per cent
increase.
The importance of this camping culture
to regional destinations was underlined by
the fact 30 per cent of all trips to the regions
involved RV use or camping. Similarly, one in
five nights spent in regions were spent in an
RV, or camping in general.
Some regions are growing more quickly
than others in terms of popularity; NT,
SA, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland all
recorded changes of 10 or more per cent. NSW
and WA still experienced increased domestic
visitation, but less markedly.
Families are the most common group
heading on these caravan and camping trips,
representing roughly one third of trips made;
just behind them are the midlife demographic
without children.
But in terms of actual nights spent on the
road camping, time-rich grey nomads are
leading the charge, taking up 32 per cent. Just
behind them are families at 30 per cent. — AB
& SREvery man and his dog is camping nowadays
PICTURE CREDIT: Matt Williams