Favourable climate and extensive network
Australians love caravanning and camping. They see it as a great way to experience Australia’s open spaces and natural beauty.
The caravan and camping sector is a major contributor for the economy. This is due to:
- Australia’s favourable climate
- an extensive network of camping grounds and sites around the country.
This caravan and camping data is from the National Visitor Survey (NVS).
The number of caravan and camping trips grew by 67% in the decade before COVID-19. In the year ending 2019, Australians took 13.9 million caravan and camping trips. This was an all-time record.
Of these trips, commercial caravan parks and camping grounds accounted for 52% of trips, 62% of nights and 64% of spend.
Numbers have recovered well since the COVID-related lockdowns ended. Trips were at 12.7 million by the year ending June 2022. Spend was at an all-time high of $10.5 billion.
With over 770,000 total caravan and campervan registrations across the nation in 2021, this growth is set to continue.
Key statistics for caravan and camping
The year 2019 gives the most recent full year of NVS data pre-COVID. It was the highest year on record for caravan and camping trips.
Total trips
In the year ending December 2019:
- caravan and camping domestic overnight trips totalled 13.9 million
- travellers spent 58.8 million nights travelling with 90% of nights in regional Australia
- travellers spent a total of $10.5 billion for their caravan and camping travel, with $8.1 billion spent while travelling, of which 88% or $7.1 billion was in regional Australia
- almost one in every 5 domestic overnight trips was a caravan and camping trip.
Holiday trips
In the year ending December 2019:
- 78% of caravan and camping trips were for holidaying
- a further 11% of trips were to visit friends and relatives, while 10% were for business/employment
- 91% of holiday trips and nights, and 90% of holiday spend ($5.3 billion) were in regional Australia
- commercial sites accounted for 53% of all caravan and camping holiday trips, 63% of nights and 72% of spend.
Impacts on regional Australia
Caravan and camping trips are a major contributor to regional Australia.
In regional Australia, in the year ending December 2019, caravan and camping trips accounted for:
- one in every 3 domestic overnight holiday trips
- more than one in every 3 holiday nights
- one in every 5 dollars spent on holiday trips.
Read more
- Read the National Visitor Survey methodology.
- Find data tables and other publications on our Data and research page.
- We produce a monthly snapshot of the National Visitor Survey.