A LEADING chain of caravan parks and holiday resorts says business is booming, despite the current economic gloom.

In fact, BIG4 Holiday Parks says it is bucking the trend and "significantly outperforming" Australia's holiday and travel sector.

According to National Visitor Survey results for the March quarter, total visitor nights nationally were down 10 percent. But during the same period, BIG4 Holiday Parks recorded a near 12 percent rise across its 185 holiday parks, contributing to a continued surge in business demand.

The chain is currently booking more than $800,000 in accommodation monthly, with 70 percent coming from outside its traditional and loyal BIG4 Club membership.

BIG4 Holiday Parks chairman Rodger Power attributes his organisation's success in capturing a larger share of holidaymakers to bold new marketing strategies – introduced before the onset of the global recession – combined with a continued commitment to product improvement at its parks.

In April last year BIG4 invested heavily in a new consumer web presence and then successfully launched a centralised on-line booking system in September.

The chain said its customer-designed site, where busy Australians could book at leisure, had opened doors to a whole new market sector, significantly boosted sales and given BIG4 the edge over competitors.

"BIG4 Holiday Parks recorded 65 percent total brand awareness in an independent study by Galeforce Strategic Services just completed," Mr Power said. "Our closest competitor recorded 38 percent. Customers continue to return to our parks because they are getting better value and better quality experiences."

Tourism and Transport Forum managing director Christopher Brown said BIG4's performance was outstanding in a depressed market.

"Combine value with a great variety of locations, on-site activities, facilities and amenities and BIG4 Holiday Parks is proving to be an attractive holiday option for Australian families," he said.

BIG4 had also focussed on developing unique and high quality roofed accommodation and a suite of on-site and local area activities.

Many "astute" BIG4 Park operators had taken advantage of the economic climate to build new cabins, install jumping pillows and water parks and creatively improve their parks and products. Two new BIG4 parks are under construction in Tasmania and Victoria.

The organisation said that continued investment in marketing activity had been crucial in ensuring holidaymakers understood BIG4's attractiveness as a holiday destination which would not break the budget.

"We continued to invest in marketing even when the economy was looking pretty bleak, and we'll continue to do so in the future," Mr Power said. "It's essential that we maintain the dialogue with our customers."

Founded more than 30 years ago, BIG4 has parks Australia-wide. Fifteen have been added to the group this year and there is strong interest from others across the country wanting to join before the year ends.

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