Growth and Trends in the RV Sector in Australia – May 2019The RV Traveller Market The industry is the fastest growing domestic tourism sector in Australia and has been for the past

15 years1. Tourism Research Australia statistics show that 2016 recorded the highest growth in domestic

caravanning and camping overnight trips and visitor nights since data was first collected in 19982. Total visitor nights of caravanning and camping grew by 11.7 million trips in 2016 over the previous

twelve months to produce 51.6m visitor nights, a growth of 16%2. In 2016, grey nomads accounted for 43% of the caravan and camping nights - a 19% growth over

the previous year2. The market is worth $5.53 billion a year, and RV travellers are the biggest spending travellers in

both the domestic and international tourism market5, by virtue of their average length of travel. International caravan and campers in 2011 spent an average of $7,500 per trip compared to $4,750 per trip by other international visitors. Similarly, they spent an average of 71 nights in Australia vs an average of 33 nights by other international visitors.

According to Austrade, Australian holidaymakers took nearly 12 million caravanning and camping trips in 2018, accounting for 54.8 million nights in caravan parks and campsites, up 9 per cent from the previous year.

The family market (30-54 years) is the strongest user of caravan and camping holidays, comprising 46% of the market. The age group 55+ represents 29% of the market. Millennials represent 18% of the market2

As at Dec 2018, there were 612,617 caravans and 66,611 motorhomes and campervans registered in Australia, having achieved a 10% growth rate since 20154.

Caravans and campervans represent the two fastest growing sectors of vehicle types in Australia3. It is estimated more than 80,000 RVs travel around QLD each year. 65% of motorhomes and campervans are diesel powered and 3% run on LPG or dual fuel3. Queensland has the largest and youngest fleet of caravans and campervans (160,774 or 26% of the

nation’s RV’s) and the youngest average age of its fleet -14.7yrs. Queensland produced 31.4% of the growth in total registrations of RV’s from 2015 to 20163.

The proportion of caravans to campervans is 90% to 10% and this proportion has been steady over the past year. Australian manufacturers produced 38% of the campervans manufactured in Australia in the past 12 years.

Domestic visitors account for 91% of total visitor camping nights. It is estimated that RV travel will increase by more than 60% over the next 10 years. RV ownership has increased by 5.2% per year for the past 5 years4

Baby Boomers are driving demand – their discretionary income is predicted to rise, and they’re expected to continue expanding the travelling market over the next 5 years.

In 2013, 30% of RV purchases were by people aged between 38 - 52 years and 29% were by people aged 53 - 67 years.

The number of caravan park spaces are expected to continue to decline over the next 5 years, as the number of RVs on the road continues to increase.

Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia02 4978 8788 | PO Box 254 HRMC NSW 2310www.cmca.net.au

When considering income from cabins, powered sites and unpowered sites at caravan parks, unpowered sites represent between 2% and 5% of total annual caravan park revenue4

The average cost of an unpowered site in caravan parks across Australia remained steady in 2018 at $38.00 per night. This compares to the average powered site cost of $42.00 per night4.

Trends within Australia 53% of baby boomers aged over 65 plan on doing 2-3 domestic trips in 20196

15% of boomers plan on doing 4-5 domestic trips in 20196

RV ownership has grown by 5.2% per year for the past 5 years6

51% own caravans, 17% camper trailers and 13% motorhomes/campervans6

Owners of motorhomes were less likely to have children at home, have fewer financial limitations and increased free time due to (semi) retirement6

52% of currently owned RVs were purchased second hand, the majority of which (60%) were purchased from a private seller6

Reasons for people selling their RV include: lack of use (26%); economic reasons (20%); family and health reasons (19%); technical or physical issues (16%)6

27% of those who have never owned an RV intend to enter the market in the next 3 years6

Once a consumer has purchased a motorised RV, they have very little intent to replace it with a towable vehicle6

47% of those surveyed who do not own an RV indicated that they would consider hiring an RV in Australia6

74% of those who intend to purchase an RV in the future would consider hiring an RV in Australia6 (try before you buy concept)

62% of current RV owners indicated that they would consider hiring out or providing their RV through a sharing economy platform6

Annual Australian caravan manufacture has increased from 11,200 units to 14,000 since 2016, a growth of 12.5% per year. This compares to declining production of pop-tops, camper trailers and tent trailers over the same period10

Caravans represent 66% of the towable RV manufacture in Australia each year, with pop tops 20% and camper trailers 12%10

For towable vehicles, 58% of annual production is over 6m in length, with 25% 5-6m and 13% 4-5m, and this has remained relatively consistent since 201410. For towable weights, 56% of production is 2-3t, 19% 1.5-2t and 18% 0.75-1.5t. 6% of production is 3-4t. The 2-3t category has increased in proportion of production since 2012 from 28% to 56%, at the expense of all other weight categories.

For motorised RVs, 69% of production is for C Class RVs, 23% B Class and 8% Campervans10. In terms of vehicle length, 74% of production is for 7-9m, 20% 6-7m, 5% 5-6m and 1% over 9m. By weight, production is predominantly (93%) RVs of 3-4.5t, with 6% 4.5-8t and 1% 8t+.

Trends within CMCA

CMCA Membership survey results Over the past 5 years CMCA has acquired more members who own a caravan or camper trailer, and

this represents 20% of current member vehicles7 CMCA has the largest caravan member base of any club in Australia (over 7,000) There is strong sentiment amongst members to allow caravan members to join as a full member7. CMCA RV parks now include a limited number of non-member sites at a higher costAccommodation Preferences The overall preference of CMCA Members is for non-commercial accommodation. Members are more

accepting of low-cost camping as opposed to ‘free’ camping since 2016. Public low-cost camping is the most popular (78%) amongst members with public free camping at 69%.8

Caravan parks as a preferred option has reduced from 21% in 2016 to 16% in 2019 and 46% of members indicated caravan parks are the least important of accommodation options.8

Another report states that accommodation preference for road-based travellers is for publicly available sites without facilities whilst 34% of RV travellers stay only in caravan parks and 16% stay only in non-commercial accommodation5.

There is a major trend towards fully self-contained vehicles - moving away from the necessity to stay in a caravan park. Self-contained RVs are environmentally friendly, and don’t need to plug into electricity or sewage systems, as they have on board facilities such as holding tanks, water supply and solar power.

There is a trend towards larger vehicles with growth in the 1.5 tonne to 3.1 tonne categories4. 91% of CMCA members believe their vehicle can comply with the CMCA Self-Contained Vehicle

Policy.8 31% of the CMCA fleet is already certified self-contained. Since 2016, the proportion of members more inclined to visit a town if it is a RV friendly town has

increased from 64% to 85%8. We now have 339 RVFTs throughout Australia1. 26% of CMCA members travel with pets8 the majority being dogs.

Environmental Leadership When asked ‘How important is it to you for the CMCA to take leadership in promoting

environmentally sustainable RV tourism?’ 87% of members strongly agreed8.

Spending In 2013, the (QLD) Tourism Toolbox clearly identified that RV travellers on the road will spend more

than $700.00 per week. When surveyed, CMCA members indicated that they spend on average $542 per week when on the

road and are away from home for 105 nights per year covering just over 10,000km.8

At the CMCA RV park in Bundaberg, park visitors spent on average $282 per RV per night over the first 10 months. This is equivalent to over $1,000,000 per annum injection into the local economy of Bundaberg.

Information Sources CMCA members have increased their usage of digital platforms since 20168. Access to the internet has increased since 2016 from 85% to 97%8. New members prefer to use CMCA’s travel app GeoWiki whilst older members prefer a hard copy of

Camps Australia Wide as their source of camping information1. GeoWiki is an on/offline camping app that can be used on a smart phone, tablet or Windows PC and is updated every month and is well moderated to ensure the information can be as accurate as possible. It has a large database of information including 45,000 points of interests featuring campgrounds, RV Friendly Towns®, RV Friendly Destinations®, Dollar Wise Caravan Parks, Member Stop Overs, CMCA RV parks, day use areas, information centres, public dump points, trip planner etc.

The use of GeoWiki by members has increased from 26% to 40% since 20168.

Activities Members most preferred activities include visiting markets, heritage sites and museums,

bushwalking, birdwatching, visiting State and National Parks and undertaking full/half day tours.

Other Key Points Members now feel that is it important for CMCA to promote low cost camping and freedom of

choice. RV travellers should have the choice on what accommodation source they choose. They should not

be forced into using a product they don’t need.

Members are more likely to access the internet while travelling. This is becoming a necessity for Members.

CMCA has initiated a new accommodation product to the market called CMCA RV Parks. We have established five (5) parks already and will continue to work with councils to develop a further 15 across the country.

For more information, please contact National HeadquartersPO Box 254 HRMC, NSW 2310 | 02 4978 8788 | seanconstable@cmca.net.au

1 CMCA Member Satisfaction Survey, Colmar Brunton 2016 2 Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) 2017, 3 Caravan and Campervan Data Report, BDO, Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) 2016 4 Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA), 20185 Tourism Research Australia (TRA), 20126 RV Consumer 2018, Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) 7 CMCA Membership Analysis April 2019 8 CMCA Member Satisfaction Survey, Colmar Brunton 2019 9 Travel Study, New Young Consulting 2019 10 RV Production, Overview of towable and motorised recreational vehicles manufactured in Australia, Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) February 2019