JUST HOW BIG IS THE RV INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA

By Evan Spence 3 Min Read

It’s little wonder that Australia won the right to host the 2015 World RV Conference, which will see members of the recreational vehicle industry flocking to Melbourne in February. The Caravan Industry Association of Australia says this nation’s love affair with caravanning and camping continues to grow. Try more than 60 million “visitor nights” a year!

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The association has released research showing caravan registrations have experienced a higher rate of increase in recent years than any other vehicle type (5 per cent year-on-year).

There were 528,869 registered RVs in Australia in 2013 – the vast majority caravans and camper trailers – compared to 502,025 in 2012.

As of May 2014, domestic RV production was up 7.4 per cent in a year. All this means an industry generating $7 billion worth of expenditure annually. People aged 35-49 account for about half of travellers in this sector, but the new buzz word the RV industry loves is “gramping” – where grandparents take their grandkids on the road with them.

Here are some other impressive statistics:

67.8 million site nights were spent in the caravanning and camping sector in 2012. 45.3 million (67%) were in a caravan holiday park with above 40 sites

Expenditure by caravanning and camping consumers is approximately seven billion dollars annually

90% of all site nights are in regional Australia
90% of caravanning and camping activity is undertaken by Australian domestic travellers

The largest user group is 35-49 year olds with approximately 50% of all travel in the sector
There are 170,000 powered and unpowered sites available nightly in Australia. At an average occupancy rate of 54% this means 86,000 sites go unused nightly around the country

There were 528,869 RVs registered in 2013. Of these registered vehicles, 474,783 are towed product (i.e. caravans, camper trailers, tent trailers) while 54,103 are motorised (i.e. motorhome or campervan)
Caravan registrations increased 5.96% to January 2012 – the highest recorded of any motor vehicle type
85% of the Australian population has stayed in a caravan holiday park at least once in their life

For every $100 of caravan park revenue, $138 worth of direct economic benefit flows through the local economy
Local RV production in the year ending December 2013 was 20,402 (19,441 towed, 961 motorised). It is estimated up to 10,000 units (mainly camper trailers) may also be imported annually
Dan Lewis


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