LAKE Macquarie's caravan parks have been applauded by local mayor Jodie
Harrison.
The accolade came after her council scooped a NSW Local Government
Excellence in Asset Management award.
A recent tourism study showed that every year about 130,000 visitors to
Lake Macquarie chose to stay in a caravan park or commercial camping
ground.
"At council, one way we like to promote this incredible city is by
inviting others to come and experience it for themselves," Cr Harrison
said.
"We even provide some of the finest holiday parks available to ensure our
visitors experience the very best of Lake Macquarie."
The mayor said Lake Macquarie's four holiday parks ‒ Belmont Pines,
Blacksmith Beach, Swansea Gardens and Wangi Point ‒ were "very important"
because they allowed visitors to stay in "unique, comfortable and
well-managed" accommodation while on holiday.
"So that we can make sure our parks are some of the best around, in 2009
the council commenced a six-year works program to improve the quality of
the parks and increase financial performance," she explained.
"Since then we have seen a 47 percent increase in revenue and an increase
in star rating to four stars at two of the parks."
The upgrades involved 74 individual projects including cabin
accommodation, re-fabricated amenities blocks and the installation of new
recreational facilities such as camp kitchens, recreation rooms and
resort-style swimming pools.
"By improving our accommodation to suit the needs of our visitors, we can
attract an even greater number of new visitors to the region and boost our
local economy even further," Cr Harrison said.