Domestic Caravan and Camping Travel to NSW YE December 2016

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1 This snapshot presents information on visitors to NSW who stayed in caravan and camping accommodation 1 in the year ended (YE) Dec NSW VISITOR MARKET SIZE AND EXPENDITURE In YE Dec 2016, the total number of international and domestic caravan and camping overnight visitors to NSW were 4.1 million (up 11% on 2015). They stayed 17.8 million nights (up 18%) and spent $3.4 billion (up 19%) in the State. International and domestic caravan and camping visitors represented 12% of visitors in 2016 and 10% of nights in NSW. Share of caravan and camping visitors and nights in NSW have been steady (11% and 10%, respectively in 2012) The State received 34% of all overnight visitors in 2016 and 32% of nights by caravan and camping travellers in Australia. Compared to 2012, NSW share of caravan and camping visitors to Australia was up 0.8% points and the share of nights was up 1.1% points. The main market for the caravan and camping is Domestic, with over 97% of caravan and camping visitors to NSW in YE Dec 2016 being Australian residents. The snapshot from this point onward will focus on Domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW. Table 1. Caravan & Camping Visitors, Nights and Expenditure Visitors (million) Nights (million) Average Length of Stay Domestic Caravan and Camping Travel to NSW YE December 2016 Median Length of Stay Total spend ($ billion) Spend per visitor Spend per night International nights 11 nights $3,140 $429 Domestic Overnight nights 3 nights 3.0 $745 $176 TOTAL Chart 1. Domestic caravan and camping Visitors to NSW In the YE Dec 16, NSW received a total of 4.0 million domestic caravan and camping visitors in 2016 (up 11% on 2015). Of these, 2.4 million stayed in commercial caravan and camping sites (or 60% of total NSW domestic overnight caravan and camping visitors) and 1.7 million stayed in non-commercial caravan and camping sites. Compared to YE Dec 15, the number of commercial and non-commercial caravan and camping visitors to NSW grew by 7.7% and 18.7%, respectively. 1 Definition: Caravan and camping visitors are those who stayed overnight at caravan and camping accommodation either commercial sites (caravan parks, camping grounds or cabins) or non-commercial sites (self-drive van; motor home or campervan; or camping by the side of the road, private property, crown land or a national park). Visitors do not necessarily spend all of their trips nights in caravan and camping accommodation on their trip. 2 Source: International Visitor Survey and National Visitor Survey, YE December 16, Tourism Research Australia. 3 International Spend: Spend in Australia excludes international airfares and just 30% of prepaid package has been included (money spent in Australia on items other than long distance fares).

2 P a g e 2 Chart 2. Domestic caravan and camping Nights to NSW In the YE Dec 16, domestic caravan and camping visitors stayed in NSW 17.0 million nights (up 19% compared to YE Dec 15). Of these nights, 68% were coming from commercial visitors (11.6 million nights) and 32% were coming from non-commercial (5.4 million nights). Compared to YE Dec 15, the number of nights also grew by commercial and non-commercial caravan and camping visitors to the state (15.2% and 29.4%, respectively). Chart 3. Domestic caravan and camping Expenditure to NSW In the YE Dec 16, domestic caravan and camping visitors spent $3.0 billion in NSW. Of these, $2.1 billion was spent from commercial caravan and camping visitors (69% of total NSW domestic overnight caravan and camping expenditure) and $1.1 billion was spent from non-commercial caravan and camping visitors. Compared to YE Dec 15, commercial caravan and camping visitor expenditure grew by 15.0% and noncommercial also significantly grew by 37.4%. In the period 2012 to 2016, the total number of domestic caravan and camping visitors, nights and expenditure to NSW grew by 31%, 21% and 43%, respectively. In the last five years to 2016, total number of domestic commercial caravan and camping visitors, nights and expenditure to NSW grew by 17%, 11% and 26%, respectively. In the same time period, total number of domestic non-commercial caravan and camping visitors, nights and expenditure to NSW grew by 57%, 49% and 95%, respectively.

3 P a g e 3 PURPOSE OF VISIT Chart 4. Domestic caravan and camping purpose of visit In the YE Dec 16, Holiday (77.9%) was the largest purpose of visit for domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW, followed by Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (8.8%) and Business (8.8%). Compared to YE Dec 15, visitors who travelled for Holiday grew by 14.4% while VFR and Business declined by 1.8% and 13.0%, respectively. Holiday (81.4%) was also the largest purpose in terms of nights in the state, followed by VFR (7.9%) and Business (6.1%). Compared to YE Dec 15, nights spent per Holiday increased by 22.2% while VFR grew by 5.1% and Business declined by 15.9%. Comparing commercial and non-commercial caravan visitors, there were more Holiday visitors staying on commercial caravan and camping (80.8% compared to 73.7%) while more Business visitors stayed on noncommercial caravan and camping (14.8% compared to 4.2%). DESTINATIONS VISITED IN NSW Table 2. Total Domestic Caravan & Camping Destinations in NSW

4 P a g e 4 Regional NSW is the main destination for domestic caravan and camping visitors to the State, having accounted for 94% of visitors and 95% of nights. In the YE Dec 2016, Regional NSW received nearly 3.8 million domestic caravan and camping visitors (up 12.6% on 2015) who stayed 16.1 million nights (up 18.7%) and spent $2.9 billion (up 21%) in the State. In the period 2012 to 2016, total number of domestic caravan and camping visitors and nights to Regional NSW grew by 33% and 21%, respectively. In the YE Dec 16, North Coast region (28.1%) was the most popular destination in NSW for caravan and camping visitors. South Coast region (20.7%) was the 2 nd most popular, followed by The Hunter (11.5%). Compared to YE Dec 15, the domestic caravan and camping visitors to the top 3 regions in NSW grew by 11.9%, 22.2% and 27.8% respectively. Domestic caravan and camping visitors spent more nights in North Coast region (33.7%) than any other region in NSW. South Coast region (19.2%) had the 2 nd most nights, followed by The Hunter (7.6%). Domestic caravan and camping visitors stayed, on average, 4.2 nights in the State. Compared to YE Dec 15, the average stay by caravan and camping visitors was up by 0.3 night. Commercial caravan and camping visitors stayed 4.8 nights while non-commercial stayed 3.2 nights in the state. Since YE Dec 2012, the North Coast had been the number one destination for domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW. ORIGIN Table 3. Total Origin Domestic and Caravan Visitors Note: There are not big differences between commercial and non-commercial markets, in terms of visitors origin. In the YE Dec 16, Regional NSW was the largest source of domestic caravan and camping visitors to the State (40.1%), followed by Sydney (25.2%) and Queensland (16.6%). Compared to YE Dec 15, the Regional NSW source market grew by 13.2% and Sydney marginally increased by 1.0% while Queensland increased by 36.0%. Regional NSW (38.6%) was the largest source markets in terms of domestic caravan and camping nights in the State, followed by Sydney (20.1%) and Queensland (19.5%). Compared to YE Dec 15, nights spent by domestic caravan and camping visitors from Regional NSW and Queensland increased by 27.2% and 35.1% respectively, while Sydney remained unchanged compared to YE Dec 15. Over the past five years, Regional NSW had been the main source market for domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW and also the largest contributor to nights.

5 P a g e 5 TRAVEL PARTY Chart 5. Travel Party Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors ACTIVITIES IN NSW Chart 6. Top activities in NSW Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors In the YE Dec 16, adult couple (35.3%) was the most common travel party of commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW, followed by friends and relatives (27.9%) and family group (27.7%). For non-commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW, the biggest travel party is friends and relatives (36.6%), followed by alone (23.2%) and adult couple (21.8%). Since YE Dec 2012, adult couple had been mainly the most common travel party for commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW except in 2013 when family group was the most common travel party (34.4%), followed by adult couple (31.7%). For non-commercial visitors to NSW, the most common travel party since YE Dec 2012 has been friends and relatives. In the YE Dec 16, the top activities undertaken by commercial and non-commercial caravan and camping visitors to the State were slightly different. For commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors, the most popular activity was eat out/dine at a restaurant and/or café (59.6%), followed by go to the beach (47.0%) and sightseeing/looking around (37.3%). For non-commercial caravan and camping visitors to NSW, the most popular activity was eat out / dine at a restaurant and/or café (38.5%) followed by bushwalking/rainforest walks (29.8%) and sightseeing/looking around (24.7%). In the past two years, eat out/dine at a restaurant and/or café had been the top activity for both commercial and non-commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW.

6 P a g e 6 GENDER Chart 7. Gender Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors AGE GROUPS Chart 8. Age groups Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors In the YE Dec 16, there are more non-commercial caravan and camping visitors males (65.6%) than females (34.4%). For commercial caravan and camping, there is an even split between males and females (50.3% and 49.7% respectively). Compared to YE Dec 15, the number of female and male visitors to commercial and non-commercial caravan and camping sites to NSW have increased: Female caravan and camping visitors to commercial sites 10% and non-commercial sites 26%. Male caravan and camping visitors to commercial sites 5% and non-commercial sites 15%. In the YE Dec 16, the youth market (15-29 years) was the largest age group of non-commercial caravan and camping visitors (28.8%) to NSW. 30 to 39 years (18.6%) and the 40 to 49 years (18.4%) were the next biggest age groups. For commercial domestic caravan and camping, the largest age group was 40 to 49 years (22.3%), followed by 15 to 29 years (19.0%) and 60 to 69 years (18.4%). In the last 5 years, the youth market had been the largest age group of non-commercial domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW while it s the 40 to 49 for domestic commercial campers to NSW. TRANSPORT IN NSW Chart 10. Transport in NSW Total Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors In the YE Dec 16, private vehicle or company car (93.9%) was the most common transport used to destinations in NSW by domestic caravan and camping visitors, followed by self-drive motor home or campervan (2.5%) and bus/coach (1.4%). Compared to YE Dec 15, the number of domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW using private vehicle or company car and rental car grew by 13% and 12% respectively, while other transport used has declined. Note: There are not big differences between commercial and non-commercial markets, in terms of transport in NSW.

7 P a g e 7 SEASONALITY Chart 11. Seasonality Domestic Caravan and Camping Visitors In the YE Dec 16, over a fifth of commercial caravan and camping visitors returned from their trip in January (16.8%), followed by those returning in November (10.3%) and then April (9.9%). The top month for non-commercial caravan and camping visitors to return form their trip is also January (13.8%) but the second one is March (12.8%) and the third is October (10.8%). Compared to YE Dec 15, the total number of domestic caravan and camping visitors to NSW returning on June and July (winter months) grew the most (26.5% and 27.2%, respectively). MORE INFORMATION For more information and statistics about tourism in NSW, see the Tourism Facts & Figures page on the Destination NSW Corporate website at