Holidaymakers hit the open road

Caravan king Gerry Ryan says the strength of the camping and caravan market will see him create another 250 jobs.

Jeremy and Louise Clines with children Nathaniel and Esther at Cockatoo Island. Picture: James Croucher

Caravan king Gerry Ryan says the strength of the nation’s camping and caravan market will see him create another 250 jobs at his Jayco manufacturing plant in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges, which already directly employs 1200 staff.

The Jayco chairman, privately worth $380 million, says he is increasingly knocking back private equity firms wanting to buy into the business, given the increasing demand for his motor homes, caravans and camper trailers.

Jayco controls 51 per cent of the Australian market and exports to New Zealand and Asia.

“The market has been growing since 2009,” says Ryan.

Indeed, new data reveal Australians’ love affair with camping continues, but Chinese, German and American holidaymakers are also taking to our back roads, with government figures revealing a 12 per cent hike in domestic and international holiday stays in camping grounds to 33.3 million nights in 2016.

John O’Sullivan, managing director of Tourism Australia, said Chinese tourists were increasingly driving themselves and camping in Tasmania, which was among their most popular destinations on the back of President Xi Jinping’s visit.

There’s been a 38 per cent jump in American tourists camping here, a 14 per cent rise in British travellers and a 17 per cent increase in Germans hitting our roads and camping grounds.

Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and the North Queensland towns of Cairns and Port Douglas are among the most popular for international campers, as well as ­Tasmania’s Bridstowe Lavender Farm and the Pacific Drive between Sydney and Wollongong.

“Cockatoo Island is popular with international tourists because it’s close to the Sydney CBD, as are Roar and Snore sleepovers at Taronga Zoo, as well as the products at Western Plains Zoo,” O’Sullivan says.

North of Sydney in Coffs Harbour, Chris Watson, the manager at Watson’s Caravans and RV, says sales have risen 5 per cent across the board, including camper trails and motor homes.

Watson says it is great customers are out there using the products because in previous years people bought tents and motor homes without using them.

Victoria recorded 7 per cent growth in camping last year but every other state showed double digit growth, says Caravan Industry Association chief executive Stuart Lamont.

Average stays in caravan parks are increasing to nearly five nights as caravan and camping facilities improve and more domestic ­travellers choose camping holidays, particularly for fishing and walking.

A spokesperson for the Cockatoo Island camp ground, managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, says it had a 20 per cent increase in occupancy in the past year.

British tourists Jeremy and Louise Clines and children, Nathaniel, 5, and Esther, 7, like camping on Cockatoo Island, saying it’s an ideal place to stay given they have relatives living in northern and southern Sydney.

“We have camped all over Britain and Europe, and this is ideal,” Jeremy Clines says.

“This is much cheaper than Airbnb,” he adds, saying that with their own tent it’s costing the family of four just $285 a week.

With average Sydney hotel room rates costing $200-plus a night, camp sites on Cockatoo Island are relatively cheap at just $45 through to $175 a night for glamping, which includes waterfront camping in a 3m x 3m tent.

Meanwhile, Ryan says the only thing hampering the industry is property developers buying up camping grounds.

“Developers have come in and bought caravan parks because of the return on investments,” he says.

“The industry will be facing shortages of land.”

Jayco’s range starts from $10,000 for JPOD caravans to $190,000 for Optimum motor homes, depending on the options.