FEBRUARY 2020
     

Keep camping, urges CIAA

Caravanning body moves to
help bushfire communities

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THE caravanning industry's peak body has launched a new initiative to help bushfire-ravaged areas get back on their feet.

Hundreds of caravan and holiday parks in NSW and Victoria are doing it tough in the aftermath of Australia's worst bushfire crisis in living memory.

"Many of the affected areas should be in absolute peak season brimming with tourists," Caravan Industry Association of Australia chief executive Stuart Lamont explained.

"And yet whole regions remain closed with some caravan parks suggesting they may be weeks before reopening."

His association's new Keep on Camping push is urging travellers to consider visiting an affected area on their next caravan and camping trip.

Mr Lamont said that tourists would be vital in helping the communities and businesses during the long process of recovery.

Caravan and camping has a unique role in the sustainability of Australia’s tourism industry, with 30 percent of all trips in regional areas involving caravan or camping.

According to Tourism Research Australia, caravan parks in the South Coast of NSW and Gippsland regions account for the largest market share of all commercial accommodation nights in the region, at 38 percent and 42 percent respectively.

Keep on Camping helps travellers to make informed travel decisions so that when it is safe to travel again, they can get back in there to spend their money and help those communities reliant on tourism.

Mr Lamont said local tourism would be the key for ensuring long term sustainability in regional tourism.

"The devastation we have seen due to bushfires is heartbreaking and our sincerest appreciation goes out to all communities and those volunteers on the ground who have been battling these conditions to save lives and property in the most trying of circumstances," he said.

When taking a caravan or camping trip to a regional area, travellers invest money directly in local attractions, they shop at local cafes and boutiques, they buy seafood and groceries and stay in local holiday parks when they visit.

Through travelling to regional destinations, caravanners and campers are supporting communities, spending their money and helping those towns who need it most.

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