The north Queensland city of Mackay is looking to make the most of the boom in the camping and caravanning lifestyle … and it’s asking for the help of grey nomads and others to find the best way to do it.
An online survey has been released by Mackay Regional Council as it seeks to identify and prioritise key actions that will enable the region to increase its appeal to recreational vehicle users.
Mayor Greg Williamson said camping and caravanning had been growing in importance,
“The self-drive camping and caravanning market has a significant role to play in the region’s tourism product with outdoor recreation opportunities like camping, fishing, cycling and other related activities experiencing substantial growth annually,” Mayor Williamson said. “We want to capitalise on this growth and ensure we are taking the right steps to plan for our future in regard to the RV industry.”
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Mayor Williamson said the region had a strong self-drive market presence, demonstrated by the annual winter ‘migration’ of retired travellers and a growing regional market looking for short-break destinations.
“To ensure this strategy hits the mark, we need to hear ideas and feedback from existing caravan and campground operators, tourism-related businesses, residents as well as tourists,” he said.
The Covid pandemic sparked a surge in the self-drive tourism market which continues to strengthen and increase.
And experts sys that ‘van-life’ and caravanning has started appealing to a wider demographic.
According to statistics released by the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, as of June 2022, there were nearly 800,000 registered RVs in Australia and over 150,000 on the roads at any one time.
The Mackay region already offers a mixture of self-drive destinations and an established range of caravan and camping sites.
The survey closes at midnight on Wednesday, February 8, and can be found on council’s dedicated community engagement website, by clicking here.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
I just did the survey. They ask bugger all. I can’t see how they are going to get any real information that’s robust enough to make any policies. Also have to go through a “registration” process. Will put a lot of people off.
Mackay Regional Council wants ideas on how to capitalise on the growth in the Caravan industry.
Well it has been brought to my attention in the last few days that apparently the Mackay Regional Council has ordered the Pioneer Valley Showground to shut its gates to Caravans and Camper’s.
Is that Capitalising on the growth in the Caravan industry.
To me it is not.!!!