A Victorian council which covers popular tourist areas including Phillip Island could be moving towards offering free short-term parking and low-cost accommodation for caravanners and motorhomers.
The Herald Sun reports that an internal review conducted by the Bass Coast Shire Council concluded that the region was not ‘tapping into’ the revenue that RV travellers create.
The review said the shire was failing to provide any amenities for this ‘unique’ market.
“Bass Coast is fortunate to have a number of natural drawcards that attract visitors locally, nationally and internationally,” the council said. “Accommodation is an essential component of visitor attraction ensuring that visitors can linger, enjoy everything that Bass Coast has to offer and, in return, support our local economy.”
Councillor Bruce Kent said change was needed as campers and RV users were ‘bypassing Bass Coast and not spending any of their money here’.
While some opponents argued that prioritising budget travellers would hurt businesses and the council should focus on supporting commercial caravan park operators instead, the review said free campers tended to avoided commercial caravan parks anyway.
Councillor Les Larke said even though free campers and commercial campground goers were ‘two separate markets’ there would be adequate consideration given to commercial caravan parks.
The Herald Sun reports that the review was supported by the region’s councillors and will now be passed for consideration in the development of the Economic Development Strategy.
Australia has more than 750,000 registered recreational vehicles and – according to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) – the industry contributes more than $23 billion annually to the economy.
Well done and thanks for being proactive. Certainly something we would use and in turn support the local businesses in that area.
We don’t usually stay in caravan parks as we don’t need any of the facilities they provide as we are fully self contained. We just need a place to pull up legally, unhook and tour around.
When staying at such free facilities we spend money at restaurants, fuel stations, camping stores, newsagency, butcher shops and chemist stores-many small businesses.
Without the free facility we would not have stopped in that town.
Its digital disruption in the accommodation and RV accommodation industry.
Digital disruption happened in media a long time ago . News papers – lots closed down, over the years because of digital disruption
A lot less people watch TV now ( I can not remember when I last turned mine on )
TV has lots completion from streaming platforms and YouTube etc etc.
IN RV space, advent of low cost widely available mobile internet has revolutionised the free flow of information
Mobile phones and IPad IOS and android and the rise of Apps and Facebook since 2010 is another supporting change.
“Free Facebook forums” allow rapid exchange of information . Innovation such as WikiCamps and competing apps, Sharing apps – where a person can share their driveway with other RVs
Campify etc etc
Expansion of toilet dump points
Other tech Solar Cells, New more efficient lightweight battery tech
Rise of Amazon (and other platforms) for lower cost and faster online purchases
RVs with integrated showers and toilets and (diesel) heaters make RV living very livable.
More changes coming will include more usable composting toilets and more automated water production systems
Totally agree. We are also able to free camp and support the same local business you do. I am not against the caravan parks, but remember , they also compete with local motels !!!
A great decision and I hope other councils follow suit with the support of the State Government.
Biggenden Qld, free camp old railway yard in town $5 p.n. with your shopping receipts – 3 days I spent at Foodworks, Bakery, BP, Hotel, Hardware & Butcher, total of $326. Plenty of local attractions there to visit.
In the past people could stay at Daylesford football ground but think council took it away as it was taking business from the Caravan parks. We have lost 2 caravan parks on the island with development, so it’s about time Bass coast started to look at the bigger picture. (30 years of being a resident of Bass coast)
Same thing happened in Ballarat with Caravan Parks saying the free camp it was taking business away from them. Now caravans keep going and don’t stop at all, a lost to all business not just Caravan Parks
The only reason Bass Coast Shire has decided to try & attract RVers is that since Covid-19 arrived the tens of thousands of overseas tourists (mainly Asians) on bus trips from Melbourne has dried up.
The penguin parade & Koala population on Phillip Island was a big tourist attraction.
The area must have lost millions in tourism revenue over the past two years.
A few retirees in free camping spots will never make up for loss.
A similar situation applies to the Great Ocean Road attraction of the Twelve Apostles.
We are free camping in Brunswick Heads for 2 nights. Arrived 330pm yesterday and since then (26 hours) we’ve spent >$500 in local businesses.
Where is the free camp at Brunswick Heads? Wikicamps doesn’t show one.
Our one and only house is in Inverloch. We rented it out while travelling for 14 years. Sure we visited to see friends but where to stay? Inverloch Foreshore Caravan Park? You’ve got to be kidding! $50 a night OFF season. For a week that was more than our rent we received.
Emptying the toilet cassette? The only place is Korrumburra. There is nowhere cheap or free in Bass Coast. We have stayed at Meeniyan Rec Reserve & donated. Or Mirboo North Rec Reserve. Caravan Parks are too expensive for full time travellers on a pension.
An important point of the report is the acceptance that there are two markets to address. Those customers who stay at caravan parks and those that free camp. Opening up free camps does not always result in lost caravan park revenue.
Hooray! High time the Bass Coast Shire smartened up its approach to this potentially lucrative tourist market!
We use both caravan parks and free camping so both situations are important to us. We would love to come stay down on the Bass coast if there was available short term parking and other cheaper options that covered amenities such as water, toilets and showers, and camping for a few days at a time. A dump point would also be a great advantage to camp travellers as well not necessarily on designated chosen grounds but in the area. The Bass coast is very pretty but if there are no available park up areas it’s not much use visiting the area. We definitely spend money in the places where we can stay more easily and have not booked ahead. Don’t make these places too far away from towns as people often like to walk to get groceries and go have a meal. Makes for fun camping … Thankyou for thinking about this situation for the future.
People can argue either way- for or against free camping. In the absence of surveys Only the caravaners really know what economic benefits they bring to an area. So each council, if they are good business people so be interested in having ‘a foot in each camp’.
There are no dog friendly campsites in Inverloch and this discourages travellers with dogs from staying in the area
Its a great idea from the Bass Coast shire, Should be more of it from other councils,
I live and pay rates in the shire of Yarra Ranges, So I am supporting the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Tourist areas, I dont know if Yarra Ranges supports Free camping or not, as I travel by car here and sleep in my own house at night,
But I do travel in a 36 foot, 10 Ton Motor Home thats Fully Self Contained, Solar and Gas,
Fresh water, Grey and Black tanks, I carry all my own,
I never stay in caravan parks,
I sleep in my Coach on the side of the road, Or any where I can find a flat level spot, ,
I park in the street Away from the main street and walk in the main street to go shopping and see the sights in the town Im in,
Usually because Im too long to park in the main street,
If I cant park in the town, I just go to the next town that does, Who then gets any money I care to spend,
Normally RV friendly towns, They are growing,
Whats it cost the council to have two car parks marked as one to allow RV’s to park, Preferably, Flat and Level, Not necessarily in the main Street.
I need food every day just like I do at home, So what ever town that lets me park, Gets my food money for a start, Or any thing else I need in my travels, Gas, Coach parts, Diesel, Odds and ends, Curio’s, Entertainment, Etc Etc,
I can have a shower, cook a meal, Go to the toilet, Etc Etc in your main street and you wouldnt know it,
I pull my drapes and you wouldnt even know I was even in my Coach,
About once a week I need a dump point to empty my Black Tank, Which after travelling, Is an orange coloured very fluid sludge, , Thats it,
Biased, Caravan park owners sitting on the council, Need to have a good look at themselves, Onsite cabins are a direct threat to Motel owners,
RV owners like myself, dont use Caravan Parks any way, So no matter how many no parking signs they put up, They still wont get RV’s like us in their caravan parks, And that town also misses out on any cash we would spend in that town,
I do have the Internet in my coach, So I also know which towns are not RV friendly before I even get there,
If the Internet Black lists your town, No one will even stop there,
A small point to consider, We dont need you, But you do need our cash in your towns,
Being RV friendly will soon get around on the Internet, So well done to the Bass Coast Council,
why not get people to put their shopping receipts in a locked box and see how much you get back
Hope this goes ahead. We want choice to decide where we stay. Have not been to Phillip Island for ten years due to high costs of park fees.
We have a self contained 5 wheeler and do not need any of the facilities a caravan park has. We have been spending between 5 to 6 months of the year travelling and go to places that have alternatives to expensive caravan parks.
From what I can see there’s a lot of local councils, and state governments in towns and cities in Victoria shooting themselves in the foot, by not providing free or low cost accom to the crowded RV traveling public. If they’d only look at the rewards that the RV friendly towns are benefiting from by providing free or low cost camping areas, they might change their minds, example in just one town (Innisfail) we spent over $2400, shopping, gas refills, fuel, and a few other items during our 4 week stay, if we’d had to pay the caravan park approx $30+ per night, we wouldn’t have stayed that long or spent that amount of money in town, you have to remember that not everyone towing a caravan or motorhome is a millionaire, especially now with food and fuel prices at bombastic levels.
There is a lack of free camping sites in the Bass Coast area.
Worst still is the exorbitant, outrageous cost of using the camp grounds in Inverloch itself.
Way too expensive for what is provided.
We were down that way 3 years ago. Managed to find a few free camps where we stayed but wouldnt spend much time in the region due to lack of free camps. We, like so many others, dont like caravan parks. We like the bush and the freedom of parking where we like. We dont need power or water supplied.
There are two separate groups those who prefer caravan parks and those that only use them when they have to and who frequent areas where they find the best free, or low, cost camps.
I am writing this in my van in Augathella Qld in the donation camps along with 40 other RVs.
We are a partial life blood to these small rural communities with the funds that we spend in them.
I travel alone. I do not want a camp kitchen, trampoline, bonfire, jumping castle, children’s playground, swimming pool or electricity. The installation cost of these amenities must surely total half a million dollars.. without the horrific cost of cleaning and maintaining.
I don’t understand why I can’t have a patch of dirt with a toilet within 300 meters for $15 a night.