Have you noticed regional caravan parks getting fuller?
Grey nomads are at the forefront of a serious boom in tourism in regional areas.
New statistics from Tourism Research Australia shows that the number of visitors heading bush is growing a lot quicker than the number exploring our cities … and many are looking to camp.
In the year to last September, domestic visitor nights in regional parts of the country grew almost 5%, compared with just 1.7% growth in capital cities … and that marks a dramatic turnaround on just two years ago when there were fears regional tourism was dying.
One of the factors behind the new boom in the bush is said to be travellers’ desire to escape the hustle and bustle … and the ever-growing holiday crowds. The weaker dollar is also helping by making overseas travel less attractive, and better marketing campaigns are highlighting the joys of regional travel.
According to the new data, the most dramatic increases occurred in regional New South Wales — where visitor nights climbed 7.6% at the same times as nights spent in Sydney receded 4%.
Growth in visitors to the Northern Territory leapt by an impressive 17.5%, compared to a far more modest 3.3% increase in Darwin. In Queensland, the Whitsundays and Sunshine Coast recorded more than double the growth in domestic visitor numbers of Brisbane and three times that of the Gold Coast.
The Tasmanian Mercury reports that regional Tasmania also saw greater growth than Hobart, and areas like Victoria’s High Country and Geelong fared much better than Melbourne.
“I’m confident that based on conversations I’ve had with operators, that people are feeling really buoyant,” said Federal Tourism Minister, Steve Ciobo. “That’s tremendous in terms of the change happening across the Australian economy as we shift away from the mining boom and focus on other parts of the economy.”
The Mercury reports that the new figures coincided with a big surge in caravan and camping holidays, and the popularity of places like Bowhill in South Australia and Bowral, Tamworth and Orange in New South Wales.
· Have you noticed a regional tourism boom? Comment below.
Something that you seem to forget is the nomadic life being chosen because some have no alternative. We dont own a house or any property, if we had continued down that path retirement would not have been an option. We are not tourists we are full time nomads and enjoying it.
I believe it because it is so dear on the coasts. We all have to watch our pennies now.
As long as tourist operators realise they must keep the costs to the grey nomads as low as possible or they will find the nomads will avoid going to some places. Travelling around the country is not cheap. The looming rise in the cost of fuel is going to be the one thing that may hinder the nomadic lifestyle.