MCU14/0056 Economic impact report Att B - Information response

3.2        Need and Demand for Tourist Park
Small area data concerning caravan park usage for short stay accommodation is now
dated, with the ABS ceasing publication of caravan accommodation statistics after June
2010 2. In 2009-10, the Sunshine Coast Tourism Region:
      •   had a capacity of 3,472 short term caravan park sites comprised of on-site vans,
          powered and unpowered sites and cabins, flats, units and villas. Powered sites
          accounted for 70% of this capacity;

      •   generated 723,000 site nights, or about 13% of Queensland’s 5.6 million short
          term site nights; and

      •   achieved an annual occupancy rate of 57.1%, compared to Queensland’s 51.1%.


The National Visitor Survey conducted by Tourism Research Australia (TRA) provides
more recent national and regional data, albeit more limited in scope that the ABS data.
For the year ending June 2014:
      •   Domestic visitors in Queensland generated about 76.1 million visitor nights, of
          which 6.1 million (8%) were accommodated in caravan parks and camp grounds.
          This form of accommodation accounted for nearly 10% of Queensland’s domestic
          visitor nights.

      •   The Sunshine Coast region generated 10.5 million visitor nights or about 14% of
          all domestic visitor nights in Queensland (all accommodation types), and is the
          State’s third largest market, following Brisbane and the Gold Coast.


TRA’s Snapshots 2012–Caravan or Camping in Australia reveals that, nationally,
domestic and international visitors using this form of accommodation:
      •   generated 45.3 million visitor nights in caravan parks or camping;

      •   domestic visitors stayed an average of five nights and international visitors stayed
          an average of 15 nights; and

      •   spent about $7 billion, with an average spend per domestic visitor night of $120
          ($105 per international visitor night).
Industry data compiled by the Campervan Motorhome Club of Australia (2013 Snapshot:
The Growth and Value of the RV Market–Key Facts) reveal that:



2
    Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data Queensland, June 2010. Cat. No. 8635.355001.

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Myall Street – Information Request Response
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22 December 2014