Nomads on the Rise

The grey nomad phenomenon is here to stay, it seems. Baby boomers like you are retiring in their thousands and taking off on that long-dreamed of Around-Aussie adventure. An estimated 17,000 caravans will be sold in Australia in the next 12 months and 80 per cent of those will be bought by people aged over 50.

Fitter than ever, more financially secure than ever, and more adventurous than ever, Australia's retiring baby boomers are on the move. With many put off international travel by September 11, the Bali bombings and the perception that overseas destinations are growing more dangerous, people are holidaying at home like never before.

The economic power of the numbers involved - some 350,000 RVs roaming the country - is starting to open doors. Many local councils are taking issues such as providing rubbish collection at rest stops and offering waste dump facilities very seriously indeed. The fact is that some small - and some not so small - communities are beginning to rely on the income generated by the presence of the nomads.

Brian Hewett is a councillor from the small Queeensland town of Thuringowa, just west of Townsville. He compares the grey nomads to another recent tourism phenomenon.

"When the backpackers first started coming 15 or so years ago nobody wanted them," he says. "Now they are welcomed with open arms and I think its will be the same with the grey nomads. It's just a different generation doing their own thing."

The question some people are already asking is 'where are all of these extra travellers going to stay?' In the winter months, some towns in the north are full to bursting and it's a brave caravanner indeed who turns up in towns like Broome without a booking. Tales of 30 long queues outside parks at six in the morning are the stuff of legend.

Maybe it's time that those in government and those in the tourism industry took note - because the nomads are on the march and they're not going to go away.

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