Facing divergent supply and demand trajectories in Australian caravanning

Abstract

The caravan park sector of the Australian leisure accommodation industry currently provides 50% of total domestic bed capacity. Recent decades have seen a gradual decline in caravan park establishments and despite its continuing market dominance in terms of bed capacity, the industry today is only a mere shadow of its former glory days in the mid 1970s. A current resurgence in caravanning, as a subset of drive tourism, has seen an increase in registrations of new campervans and motor homes of over 19% in the last 5 years alone. This inverse relationship between downward-trending park capacity and upward-trending recreational vehicle¹ registrations raises significant capacity issues for leisure accommodation. This article examines supply-side elements of caravanning – elements largely overlooked in the demand-side focused literature – through a case study of caravan parks of the Tweed Shire in northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It innovatively adapts the theoretical framework of Butler’s (Canadian Geographer 1980; 24: 5–12) tourist area life cycle (TALC) to an industry subsector, caravan parks, to examine time-series trends in park-based site-mix options and capacity. The study found that traditional site infrastructure, geared towards mobile accommodation forms of caravans and tents, is giving way to fixed forms of relocatable homes and ensuite cabins. In an environment of increasing demand for the caravanning experience but decreasing parks, and thus decreasing total site capacity, the contrasting trends are predicted to create a serious accommodation facilities shortage for the caravanning sector of the tourism industry. It concludes that the broad pattern of caravan park development, through site-mix analysis, is in alignment with the six stages of the TALC, as proposed by Butler (Canadian Geographer 1980; 24: 5–12). Market forces have, to date, propelled caravan parks to their current stage of the TALC. However, the path to a sustainable future for Australian caravan parks will now predominately be determined through their own proactive management intervention.

Keywords

Caravanning caravan park evolution recreational vehicle site-mix supply-side tourism area life cycle

Introduction

The development of caravanning in Australia is at an interesting crossroads in its evolutionary cycle. On one hand, the caravan manufacturing sector of the caravanning industry is experiencing a rapid growth phase as evidenced by the sales and registration figures of recreational vehicles (RVs). On the other hand, the caravan park sector of the industry is in gradual decline in terms of total site capacity and the number of parks: a trend that has been evident from national statistics for the past decade and a half. Although the inverse relationship between downward trending park capacity and upward trending RV registrations is a phenomenon increasingly noticed in recent demand-focused literature (Bailey, 2011; Brooker, 2011; Cridland, 2008; Glover and Prideaux, 2009; Holloway, 2007; Prideaux and McClymont, 2006), there is little available research examining the supply-side factors implicated in these patterns.

This exploratory study examines supply-side elements of caravanning in Australia through a case study of caravan parks in Tweed Shire, NSW, Australia. More specifically, it investigates how caravan parks have developed over the passage of time and how the rise and fall scenario of caravanning in Australia is reflected in the park-based site-mix options and capacity. For the purpose of this study, a caravan park is defined as one:

…that is actively engaged in the tourism industry through the provision of short-term and/or long-term accommodation to the general public and provides powered or unpowered sites and toilet, shower and laundry facilities to guests (Adapted from ABS Glossary 2005–2009).

The study poses that the tourist area life cycle (TALC) can support caravan park operators in acknowledging changes in user demands and can assist in the understanding of operator responses to the new demands of contemporary consumers. It highlights such responses and challenges them through the concepts of park rejuvenation, business innovation, customer segmentation and site matching.

The majority of academic caravanning literature focuses on demand-side issues, examining consumer demographics (e.g. Glover and Prideaux, 2009; Holloway, 2007; Prideaux and McClymont, 2006), segmentation (e.g. Marles, 2006), motivations (e.g. Hardy and Gretzel, 2011), mobility and travel patterns (e.g. Cridland, 2008), satisfaction ratings (e.g. McClymont et al., 2011) and lifestyles (e.g. Hollaway and Hollaway, 2011; Patterson et al., 2011). This study partially addresses the supply-side gap in tourism’s caravanning literature and explores Butler’s (1980) TALC as a framework for further analysis of supply-side issues, be they in response to or to preempt new patterns of demand that emerge when existing customers begin to shift their patterns of consumption or new customers emerge and begin to provide new opportunities. McClymont et al., (2011: 213) revisited basic marketing strategy to remind us that ‘despite the importance of monitoring both existing and future customers, and keeping pace with new technologies and other innovations, not all destinations or industry sectors have put in place strategies to update their image, product or service’. Butler (2011) argues that without sustainable and strategic management intervention through each of the six stages of a destination’s development cycle – exploration, involvement, development, stagnation, rejuvenation or decline – the inevitable conclusion is demise, thereby having implications for the management of resources and operational survival in a competitive and changing environment; a pattern extensively tested and illustrated through applications of the TALC in subsequent literature (Clave, 2010; Claver-Cortés et al., 2007; Cooper, 1992; Douglas, 1997; Getz, 1992; Hovinen, 2002; McElroy and Hamma, 2010; Morais et al., 2006; Müller et al., 2010; Reisenwitz, 2007; Russell and Faulkner, 1998; Solnet et al., 2010; Whitfield, 2009). This study innovatively applied the TALC concept to caravan parks as a specific subsector of the tourism industry, appreciating Solnet’s (2010: 143) observation, which states ‘there is little research that incorporates lifecycle theory directly to elements of the destination such as the hotel sector [caravan park sector] or hospitality industry in general’. It also reflects Weiermair et al.’s (2007) concern that supply-side application of the TALC has again been largely neglected in the predominant demand-side and destination focused literature.

Haywood’s (1986: 154) discussion, however, challenged the TALC on its operational ability and linear simplicity. He argued that ‘the true test of the importance of the life cycle must be based on its possibility to be used as a tool for the planning and management of tourist areas’. There are a range of other models relevant to the explanation of destination development (Faulkner and Tideswell, 2006; McKercher, 1999; Papatheodorou, 2003; Plog, 2001; Prideaux, 2000, 2004; Russell and Faulkner, 2004; Toh et al., 2001), including those from socioecology (Abel et al., 2006; Gunderson, 2008; Holling, 2001; Walker et al., 2004). Recognising the dichotomy of views developing, Prosser (1995: 318) confirmed that a number of studies have led to refinements and embellishments of the TALC to account for specific evolutions of destinations or particular interests of the research. However, he concluded, without dismissing its problems ‘that the destination life cycle provides a valuable framework for the description and analysis of tourism development processes’. Subsequently, Whitfield (2009: 559) describes the TALC as a ‘cornerstone in tourism research’, having been extensively applied and critiqued, and McElroy and Hamma (2010: 39) confirm that the TALC has been and continues to be ‘one of the most enduring and frequently deployed concepts within tourism studies and breathtakingly dominant in our understanding of destination evolution’. This article presents a model, and discussion, at the discrete sector level of caravan parks within a destination to partially inform park owners/managers in their future planning, thus embracing Butler’s (1980) original concept of strategic management of resources to intervene in such cycles that became counterproductive to operational survival.

Australian caravan manufacture – of former glory and a rebirth

After a steady but consistent growth in caravanning across the post-World War II period, the caravan manufacturing sector of the industry suddenly grew exponentially in the early 1970s, catering to contemporary demands of recreation (tourism), resources (mining) and disaster relief (cyclones), peaking in 1975 with an annual manufacturing output of 37,000 units (Figure 1). However, following a sharp spike in oil prices, consumers reacted through preference to smaller and more fuel-efficient motor vehicles that were unsuited to hauling heavy caravans. Coupled with the advent of time-share holiday investments and cheaper international flights being offered through package deals, consumer interest in caravanning declined dramatically in the late 1970s, promoting a flood of second-hand units onto the market and forcing manufacturing outputs to fall to levels comparable with the 1960s.

Figure 1.

RV manufacturing trends in Australia: 1963–2010 (Source: RVMAA, 2011).²

In 1991, the Australian caravan manufacturing sector bottomed at less than 5000 units of output, exacerbated by the successive wave of ex-accommodation relief caravans re-entering the market post reconstruction of cyclone ravished Darwin and Airlie Beach. It was not until the mid 1990s that the manufacturing sector finally started to recover. Through this growth phase over the past 17 years, the industry regained approximately 60% of its former capacity with outputs of 23,000 units in 2010, leading to industry claims that caravanning was the fastest growing tourism sector (Bailey, 2011). The manufacturing peak body, Recreational Vehicle Manufacturers Association of Australia (RVMAA), forecasts the continuing climb through 2011 with a projected further 10% growth on 2010 figures achieved. Confidence in further growth continues, given that the caravan industry’s full potential remains to be realised; not just in direct revenues from new sales and change-over sales alone but also the flow-on in terms of indirect revenues, employment, and regional prosperity (Brooker, 2011; Cridland, 2008). This is particularly pertinent in some rural areas where traditional pursuits such as farming are in decline and communities are now looking to tourism for alternative income and employment sources (Stoeckl et al., 2006). This notion is further supported by Tourism Research Australia who recognised the touring caravanner’s mobility and general interest in exploring Australia’s less developed areas making them a key tourism market for rural regions (Ipalawatte et al., 2005).

A resurgence in caravanning

Many factors are contributing to the resurgence in demand for caravanning experiences, including changing demographics, technologies, products, infrastructure and public perceptions. More fuel efficient and powerful passenger cars (Lord, 2010; RACQ, 2011), a boom in four-wheel drive vehicles (CCIA, 2011; Mussel, 2001) and dramatic product innovation in the caravan manufacturing industry that made caravans more aerodynamic and easier to tow (Airflow, 2011; Browning, 2011) will all contribute. In addition, the national road system improved to a standard that now allows caravanners to visit virtually any part of the continent (Department of Infrastructure and Transport, 2010; Laird and Roberts, 2006). Retirees, the traditional caravan market of the 1980s, are now the ‘grey nomads’ of the new millennium with an interest in the gypsy lifestyle, still growing in number at an unprecedented rate (Glover and Prideaux, 2009; Inside Story, 2008; Salt, 2004; Tourism Tasmania, 2009). A new wave of younger off-road recreationalists or ‘toy haulers’ (Jayco Corporation, 2011) and young families are also coming back into the market (Bailey, 2011; CRVA, 2011b; Prideaux and McClymont, 2006; Tourism Queensland, 2011).

Registrations of new caravans recorded a 257% increase in the decade from 1995 to 2005 with total RV manufacturing continuing to climb a further 29% between 2005 and 2010, even during the tumultuous Global Financial Crisis of 2008/2009 (ABS, 2010; RVMAA, 2011). New registrations and re-registrations totalling 48,504 for campervans and motor homes alone were recorded in 2010 representing a 19.2% increase since 2005, in this narrow sector of the caravan suite alone (ABS, 2010). These upward trends with registrations are in stark contrast to the declining total sites capacity available to travelling caravanners.

Caravan parks in decline

The number of caravan parks has been declining over the last 15 years (Figure 2), driven predominantly by a conversion in coastal areas of beachfront land to high rise units and hotels (Ipalawatte et al., 2005; Prideaux and McClymont, 2006).

Figure 2.

Number of caravan parks: 1995–2010 (Adapted from ABS Cat No. 8635.0).³

Despite the apparent contraction in the number of parks, the caravan park sector provided 50% of total domestic tourism bed capacity in 2009, generating over AUD$1.1b in annual direct takings and providing direct employment to over 3500 full time and part-time employees (ABS, 2010). These figures clearly highlight the underrated importance of caravan parks to the Australian tourism industry as further reflected through their notable absence from national and state marketing campaigns. Short- and long-term capacity of parks in terms of the number of sites has also decreased by 8% and 13%, respectively, between 2000 and 2009 (Table 1). Thus, total site capacity is declining nationally through the closure of parks in favour of higher economic yielding development scenarios. As demand for the caravanning experience increases, as evidenced through strong growth in manufacturing and registrations, the contrasting trend of caravan park accommodation/sites is predicted to create a serious accommodation facilities shortage for the caravanning sector of the tourism industry.

This article contributes to the foundational knowledge required to address this dilemma by examining past and likely future trends in the caravan park site-mix options through a detailed analysis of the historical evolution of caravan park site-mix in Tweed Shire. It aims to establish the pattern of site-mix evolution within Tweed Shire caravan parks to inform a broader descriptive model for caravan parks in the context of the TALC.

Table 1.

Change in caravan park site capacity in Australia between 2000 and 2009 (Source: ABS Cat. No. 8635.0).

	Short-term parks^a		Long-term parks^b		Total short-term capacity	Total long-term capacity
	Short-term sites^c	Long-term sites^d	Short-term sites^c	Long-term sites^d	Total short-term capacity	Total long-term capacity
Number of sites in December 2000	172,865	54,739	72,040	29,874	244,905	84,613
Number of sites in December 2009	197,799	56,656	28,183	17,051	225,982	73,707
Change	24,934	1917	−43,857	−12,823	−18,923	−10,906
2009 as percentage of 2000	114	104	39	57	92	87
Percentage increase/decrease	14	4	−61	−43	−8	−13

^aParks where the majority of paying guests occupy sites for periods <60 days.

^bParks where the majority of paying guests occupy sites for >60 days.

^cSites occupied for <60 days (tourist sites).

^dSites occupied for >60 days (permanent sites).

Methods

The article arises from a broader mixed-methods study of the supply-side evolution of caravanning in Australia, including an historical analysis of caravan manufacturing and caravan parks on a national level (Caldicott, 2011). It predominately reports on quantitative, and some qualitative, data from a questionnaire-based postal survey with regional tourist park owner/managers of a single tourist destination: Tweed Shire in NSW, Australia. The detailed and region specific survey data were augmented, complemented and enriched by qualitative data from face-to-face, telephone, email and mail communications as well as notes from unstructured interviews with key informants from state and national peak caravan park and manufacturing sector associations. Qualitative data were analysed thematically with due regard to chronology. Informant engagements followed a snow-balling approach (Brotherton, 2008), whereby initial contact with industry leaders lead to referrals to an extensive network of key informants. These engagements provided both the broad temporal context and rich, detailed tapestry to support the interpretation of past and future site-mix and park evolutionary trends.

The mail-out, self-completion questionnaire encompassed both closed- and open-ended questions and was designed in consultation with industry experts from the national peak caravanning body, Caravan, Recreational Vehicle and Accommodation Industry of Australia (CRVA). It was then pilot tested in four independent caravan parks in the neighbouring local government areas of Lismore and Ballina shires. The questionnaire was designed to elicit time-series data and was administered longitudinally on two separate occasions by the principal author. Data collection event one (1997) sought data for years 1970, 1980 and 1990. This data was stored but was not analysed at the time. Data collection event two (2011) sought data for the two additional years of 2000 and 2010. The same questionnaire (obviously with modifications regarding the reference years) was reissued to the same park population to extend the interval data series. As a participatory incentive in 2011, data from the 1997 collection were provided back to each park by way of a prepopulated survey covering the initial three decades. The two data sets were then combined for final analysis. The questions focused on quantifying the historical development of the infrastructure of caravan parks in the Tweed Shire with a review of total capacity, site-mix and facilities evolution over the period 1970–2010.

There were 14 parks in the Shire at the beginning of the study period. An additional 14 parks were established across the period with the newest park opening in 1992. Conversely, three parks closed during the period with another currently in the decommissioning process, having no tourists and only a handful of permanent residents remaining on site due to legislative requirement within their leases. Two of the three closures occurred prior to the original collection event in 1997 and records were unavailable for these. Therefore, they do not reflect in the later analysis of site-mix. Additionally, while also not included in the analysis, one new park is in the master planning stage but not due for opening before 2017. Therefore, at the overall park level, the net number of parks had peaked by the 1997 collection event at 28 with the single closure by the 2011 collection event representing a negative effect of 3.6% on total park capacity.

A saturated sample or census approach was adopted due to the small size of the population (N ₁₉₉₇ = 28; N ₂₀₁₁ = 27) (Jennings, 2001; Zikmund, 1991). Historically, mail-out surveys generally elicit low response rates (Ticehurst and Veal, 2000; Zikmund, 1991). Strong interest and support from the peak industry bodies and park owners/managers, however, contributed to a positive communications platform and relationship with the researcher and, combined with follow-up contact via phone or in person, resulted in the achievement of a 100% response rate in both data collection events. The quantitative data was coded and entered into SPSS before running cleansing tests to highlight outliers or data entry errors (Malhotra, 1993; Zikmund, 1991). This quantitative approach supported identification of development patterns of predetermined variables (park site-mix attributes) in a controlled and systematic manner (Altinay and Paraskevas, 2008; Creswell, 2009; Ponterotto, 2005) and their aggregated influence on the life cycle of caravan parks in the Tweed Shire.

Tweed Shire caravan parks – the setting

Tweed Shire is the most northerly local government area in New South Wales (NSW) along Australia’s east coast and has 32 registered caravan parks under the shire’s Local Environment Plan. Of these, 27 caravan parks in 2011 were operating within the scope of caravan park for this study.

The 27 eligible parks are collective hosts to a total of 3360 sites. As indicated earlier, five other establishments operate within the Tweed Shire; however, their business model is not focused on touring caravanners and therefore outside the scope of this study. Also excluded from the scope were low-level camping grounds provided in national parks and state forest areas as well as roadside rest areas, which are frequently used as overnight ‘freedom’ camping places.

Seven (24%) of the parks are managed by the local government authority, Tweed Shire Council, on behalf of the New South Wales Land and Property Management Authority. The remaining 20 parks (76%) are operated by private enterprise. In 2011, the various parks offered a range of site-mix options along a spectrum from 100% tourist sites (short-term) to 100% permanent sites (long-term). At the commencement of the study period, they all had a strong, if not 100%, tourism orientation. The tourism orientation for several parks moved down the spectrum, to varying degrees across the study period, with some parks by the close of the study in 2011 moving to the 100% permanent extreme. The range of facilities and services offered across the suite of Tweed Shire parks also moves along a spectrum from very primitive (walk-in sites, no permanent structures and only a cold outdoor shower) to very luxurious (ensuite drive-through sites, two story, three bedroom spa cabins, indoor recreation rooms, resort-themed water parks, health/day spas and WiFi hotspots).

Findings

Establishment of the caravan parks

The site-mix suite within caravan parks has evolved across the past two centuries, sometimes in response to demand and sometimes as entrepreneurial opportunity has presented. Camp grounds, as the foundations to the modern caravan park, were quite rudimentary, often unregulated and, at best, only supplied minimal sanitary facilities in an otherwise vacant lot. The humble tent site was, therefore, the father of the caravan park site-mix suite that, for this study, was categorised into nine site options: tent, non-ensuite caravan, ensuite caravan, onsite caravan, annual caravan, non-ensuite cabin, long-term cabin, ensuite cabin and relocatable home. Variations exist within parks and between parks in the naming of site-mix options. For example, cabin, villa and safari tent all provide a fixed form of tourist accommodation, while relocatable home and permanent caravan both provide a fixed form of residential accommodation. The terms cabin and relocatable home were applied for this study.

Many parks in the Tweed Shire evolved from rustic and makeshift camping grounds, mostly on state government-owned lands beside a beach, river or estuary almost in the shadows of the first explorers and free settlers that discovered the bounty of the Tweed Valley in 1823. As such, several parks within the current study are remnants of those early camp grounds with their exact origin sometimes unknown. For the purpose of this study, parks were deemed to be established once they came under the legislative framework of the Local Government Act 1919 as opposed to an unregulated camp ground.

Two parks (7%) were established before 1950 with a further 5% developed up to 1960 (Figure 3). The two decades from 1960 to 1980 were the premier park building period with a total of 17 new parks, or 57% of the current population established during this time. Shadowing the national downturn of caravan manufacturing between 1980 and 1990, caravan park construction in the Tweed also waned through the 1980s with only four new parks established before the final park opening in 1992.

Figure 3.

Number of newly established parks by decade.

Short-term versus long-term sites

The mean number of short-term sites was 63 sites per park at the commencement of the study period. By 1990, these declined 15% before recovering a substantial 12% by 2000 with only mild further improvement of 1.2% through 2010. The number of short-term sites declined across the study period by 4.2% or 2.5 sites per park. Conversely, the mean number of long-term sites grew strongly through the period to 1980 before a dramatic rise of 1314% to peak in 1990 at 95 sites per park before subduing consistently until 2010, 62% down from the peak at just 60 sites per park. As reflected in Figure 4, the peak of long-term sites in 1990 did come at the marginal expense of short-term sites within existing parks.

Figure 4.

Mean number of sites: Short-term versus long-term.

Ordinance 71 of the New South Wales Local Government Act 1919, introduced in 1986, legalised the long-term occupation of caravan park sites. Many parks, while discretely but illegally permitting permanent occupation, were now able to actively promote the lifestyle. This generated a flood of new customers, or a new site-mix segment, relocatable home, to the traditional tourism-based industry that was caravan parks of the Tweed.

This single piece of legislation triggered a transformation of parks. While local government dabbled in the permanent resident market, in most cases, their prime beachfront located parks rendered them more suited to retaining prime tourist sites. However, private enterprise quickly seized the opportunity to increase revenues by converting short-term sites across to long-term sites, many of which had waiting lists, thereby reducing the seasonality factor. Cash flow was assured year round with the permanent residents. Initially, most parks had a mix of permanent and tourist sites. However, a fork in the road was created at that time as some parks continued to evolve down the permanent road, now with no tourist sites at all. These parks also changed their names and marketing to focus more on the over 50s lifestyle village.

The ordinance amendment also triggered further legislation in the form of the Caravan Parks and Unmovable Dwellings Act 1988. This promoted the establishment of purpose-built caravan parks, or relocatable home parks, that were for the sole purpose of permanent living in a fixed dwelling recognised under the National Building Code (1990) rather than mobile dwellings under the 1908 Motor Traffic Act.

Trends across the short-term sites

Short-term sites are those traditionally occupied by the tourists for periods less than 60 consecutive days. They consist of six site options: tent, non-ensuite caravan, ensuite caravan, on-site caravan, non-ensuite cabin and ensuite cabin.

Tent sites

These sites took a consistently negative trajectory across the first two decades from 1970 to 1990 from a mean of 32 sites per park down to 12 sites, losing 62% of the total capacity. In the ensuing two decades to 2010, tent sites remained quite stable at their new equilibrium with only marginal additional losses finishing at 11 sites per park or 64% below the 1970 starting capacity (Figure 5(a)).

Figure 5.

Site-mix options, sequential entry and trends across short-term and long-term sites.

Non-ensuite caravan sites

From 1970 to 1980, non-ensuite sites had a minor 5% increase to peak with a mean of 52 sites per park before sliding steeply through the 1980s to 35 sites. While small gains were achieved up to the year 2000, non-ensuite caravan sites in 2010 were 39% below the peak and 36% below the 1970 level (Figure 5(a)). This is a further reflection of the loss to short-term sites demonstrated at Figure 4.

Ensuite caravan sites

In 1970, the ensuite caravan site was non-existent in the Tweed Shire (Figure 5(b)). However, by 1980 the concept had been readily adopted, peaking at an average of five sites per park through the sacrifice of some traditional non-ensuite sites to accommodate this product upgrade. This is evidenced through the corresponding decline in non-ensuite sites. This new site attribute remained stable across the next three decades to finish at five sites per park, just 14% below the peak in 2010. This negative net effect indicates that the introduction of ensuite caravan sites into new or expanded park development did not keep pace proportionately with total site capacity.

On-site caravan, non-ensuite cabin and ensuite cabin

On-site overnight caravans enjoyed steady gains in popularity across the 1970s and 1980s to peak at a mean of three sites per park in 1990. The non-ensuite cabin range of accommodation mirrored on-site caravans across this period before both modes took the brunt of the strong rise in ensuite cabins that were introduced during the 1980s. This new product gained rapid strength to have a single capacity, in 1990, of six sites per park. This was more than non-ensuite caravans and cabins held collectively, at five sites per park. On-site caravans and non-ensuite cabins continued to lose share through 2010. The ensuite cabin, in contrast, reflected continuous growth right through 2000 to finish at a peak of nine sites per park in 2010 (Figure 5(b)).

Trends in long-term sites

Long-term sites are those traditionally occupied by permanent residents for periods greater than 60 consecutive days. They consist of three site options: relocatable home, annual caravan and long-term cabin.

Relocatable home sites

These sites and permanent caravan sites were not sufficiently differentiated by owner/managers of many Tweed Shire parks with respect to site classification. They both occupy long-term sites within a mixed park environment. Consequently, the category of ‘relocatable home’ has been adopted to represent the two combined. The dramatic increase in relocatable home sites in the 1980s (Figure 5(c)) is supported by the corresponding sharp rise in long-term sites in the same decade (Figure 4). Climbing from a very low base, this ‘new product’ quickly gained space within parks to reach on average 17 sites per park by 1990, albeit at the marginal expense of short-term sites (Figure 4). Growth continued for relocatable homes across the next two decades finishing with 21 sites per park in 2010, a 22% rise from its introductory level in 1980.

Annual caravan sites

These sites have enjoyed a strong position within Tweed Shire parks across the study period although dipping severely in 1980 by 48% on the 1970 level before regaining the status quo in 1990 (Figure 5(c)). At the end of the study period, annual sites had declined a total of 12% across the five decades from 1970 to 2010.

Long-term park cabins

This cabin option has only ever held a low position within the total long-term site-mix, peaking in 1990 at two sites per park (Figure 5(c)). They continue to display declining trends with a 23% and 48% loss of site share, respectively, across the last two decades.

The full site-mix suite

The six short-term and three long-term site-mix options described above are summarised diagrammatically in Figure 5(d). It should be noted that the trendlines on this figure have been rounded for demonstration purposes to assimilate trends in the form of life-cycle curves. This effect may produce visual variation from the direct data points for some site-mix options but these variations have not impacted on the analysis.

Discussion

Tourist parks of the Tweed Shire are mirroring national trends in that parks are in decline through past and imminent closures as a response to urban development pressures (Tweed Daily News, 2011). Some parks have reinvented themselves as permanent living precincts (Greenhalgh, 2003), while a few have successfully grown their tourism market share through rejuvenation (Butler, 2006) and innovation (Brooker, 2011), particularly through fixed ensuite cabin installations that nationally reflect a 15.6% increase between 2005 and 2010 (CRVA, 2011a).

The body of knowledge gained through this study has informed a descriptive model based on the TALC (Figure 6) to position the site-mix options and caravan parks, as a homogenous unit, along the life-cycle curve. It is presented here to further stimulate this conversation and future research on caravan parks.

Figure 6.

Tweed Shire parks and site-mix options positioned on the tourist area life cycle curve.

In light of the above model, a brief interpretation of site-mix trends is as follows: onsite caravan, non-ensuite cabin and long-term park cabins are clearly heading towards extinction on a very steep decline curve. They have lost flavour within parks to be largely superseded by ensuite cabins. Annual caravans are also sliding away towards decline as their value to caravan parks is ever diminishing with respect to economic return per site. However, while some annual vans have already been displaced through closure or redevelopment of parks, they are less likely to be ordered out of parks, wholesale, due to strong historic sentiment and community backlash. Rather, they will decline through natural attrition and by having no place in a rejuvenation scenario. Tent sites, non-ensuite caravans and ensuite caravans all remain in the stagnation stage. Tents have been losing site-space share for over four decades. They are low-economic yielders as unserviced sites. While they will continue to decline in the short term, due to priority being placed on other options that can bring more immediate returns, the rejuvenation of this site-mix element will come through demand for specialised fully serviced sites, catering exclusively for the new breed of camper-trailer that is gaining popularity. These new sites will be in a good position to command a stronger return per site than their unserviced predecessors. Non-ensuite caravan sites mirror the tent site curve but due to their potential to increase revenues per site at a faster rate than tents, they will be treated by park owners earlier in the time frame. The exponential growth in caravan manufacture, coupled with the need for parks to maintain various price points, will ensure this site-mix option retains a place in the new caravan park site-mix suite. Ensuite caravan sites have the greatest potential in the shortest time frame to start driving new business for parks. Park owners are recognising that consumers are more demanding in their quality and service expectations and there remains a sufficient quantity of caravanners that has the propensity to pay for this exclusive service.

Relocatable homes are still in consolidation; however, the demand for affordable housing will continue to see growth in this site-mix sector for some time. A stronger shift is likely for these units to be concentrated into relocatable home parks in the future rather than featuring heavily in new tourist park developments. Ensuite cabins are the new kid on the block and still very much in the development phase. While not a completely new product, having been in parks for three decades, their evolution in respect to design, configuration, amenity level, theming and segment matching is still to be realised. It will not be in the too distant future when specialist ‘cabin’ parks with the appropriate segmentation based ‘brand’ and recreational facilities are developed exclusively for this site-mix option. Finally, caravan park, as the homogenous parent to the nine site-mix scenarios described above, is at a multiforked crossroad. While in total park capacity terms, it sits on the decline side of the curve, it still remains in the stagnation zone. Management intervention and calculated entrepreneurial risk through new investment will determine the future for the rejuvenation of caravan parks.

Owners/managers of rejuvenated caravan parks in Australia may need to think laterally to change the attraction upon which their traditional market was based, to ensure additional man-made attractions contain elements of uniqueness, to take advantage of ‘untapped’ natural resources around them and to reorientate towards ‘off ’ season markets making their parks an all-year-round attractive proposition. Furthermore, segmentation of markets may also be seen as owner/managers seek out special interest opportunities, the likes of education or health as examples (Brooker, 2011; Schuurman, 2011). Combined marketing is becoming essential, both within their own caravan park fraternity but, of equal importance, with regards to support of regional and state agencies in broader tourism marketing campaigns. Despite the global financial crisis of 2008/2009, anecdotal evidence from caravan park operators indicates that demand for their product has increased with trading through Christmas 2008 and Easter 2009 being particularly strong. ‘The Outdoor Holiday Parks (OHP) sector has been an anomaly within tourism as more Australians holidayed domestically in 2009, and discovered the upgrades undertaken by many OHPs in the past ten years’ (Brooker, 2011: 97).

The need to identify radical innovation within the broad Australian tourism industry is referenced indirectly in Margaret Jackson’s (2009) review of Australia’s domestic tourism industry. The report clearly articulated the need for forward thinking and introduction of new ideas, new markets and new products, rather than acting in a reactionary manner through incremental improvements (Brooker, 2011). The need for such an approach, previously articulated by Drucker (1985) and more recently advocated by Russell and Faulkner (2004), suggests that a business or organisation would not survive during periods of rapid change unless they acquired and enacted entrepreneurial know-how.

Conclusions

In 2011, and beyond, with the continued promotion of caravanning by the CRVA and strengthening RV sales by RVMAA members buoying the existing, emerging and experimenting consumer markets, a rejuvenated phase of caravanning will most certainly evolve across Australia to support new specialised caravan park developments and new site-mix opportunities.

With the continual shift in markets, subsequently placing varying demands on specific site-mix elements, caravan parks nationally are facing challenging times ahead. Based on current trends within the national manufacturing sector (Figure 1), the lessons learned through the Tweed Shire caravan park site-mix evolution (Figure 5(d)), and the description through the TALC concept (Figure 6), a number of factors present as being important in the rejuvenation of a successful tourist caravan park. These include the provision of facilities and products that are specifically targeted to satisfy business from emerging market segments and to attract new market segments, for example, health allied or conferences. The provision of a variety of communal recreation amenities and services that cater to all guests of the park will be essential. They must provide for relaxation, meeting and mingling, preparation of food, active and passive recreation, health and pampering and sophisticated entertainment facilities including zones for both adults and children with specific age appropriate children’s play areas.

Inclusion of a variety of individual site amenities such as drive-through sites, sites with ensuite, sites to cater to larger RVs and motorhomes, campsites equipped with facilities equal to caravans and large enough to handle the new camper-trailer configurations with access to a modern camp kitchen can be expected to become standard fare and catering to users of new forms of mobile accommodation. Cabin, villa and safari tent accommodation architecturally designed and set in appropriately landscaped environments that reflect the theme of the caravan park or style of the tourist destination are likely to cater to non-mobile accommodation seekers. The cabins will need to exhibit high levels of amenity and configurations to cater to a variety of price points within the emerging markets.

The positioning of the caravan park within the tourism market place as a ‘preferred’ holiday choice rather than merely the ‘affordable’ choice through highly profiled and ‘branded’ segmentation, perhaps reflecting on the `quality hotels' range, for example, will attract new markets to a rejuvenated accommodation sector. Finally, partnerships created with external suppliers could be delivering seamless servicing of the holidaying consumers’ wants and needs. Such services could range from child care, pet care, hair care, car repair, van towing, airport transfers, allied health services, learning to dance, learning to surf, grocery delivery, car and van storage and any other service tailored specifically to the customer base, location or other specialist services provided within the destination.

This exploratory study established that the broad pattern of caravan park development, through site-mix analysis, is in alignment to the six stages of the TALC: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and then decline or rejuvenation as proposed by Butler (1980). Market forces have, to date, propelled caravan parks to their current stage of the TALC. However, the path to a sustainable future for Australian caravan parks will now predominately be determined through their own proactive management intervention. For those that ‘do nothing’, excess demand over supply may bring short-term financial reward at the further expense of product quality and carrying capacity – decline is inevitable. For those that are innovative, recognising the squeeze between downward trending capacity and upward trending manufacture, and pursuing informed sustainable management intervention, a positive future is just a little further along their life cycle curve. The foundations from this study lend themselves to further research to ascertain whether the descriptive model is reflective of other regions within Australia. As a pilot, the Tweed model could be further tested against a larger population with greater geographical spread or simply within different geographical settings. These could be coastal versus inland or city versus rural or tropical versus temperate. Additionally, a comparative study could assess Australian experiences against overseas experiences to establish why differences or similarities occur in the site-mix relationships and the implications that they may pose within the industry both at the host destination and/or those they could bring to the Australian caravanning industry.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the generosity of the caravan park owner/managers of the Tweed Shire, together with the broader industry informants from the caravan manufacturing and caravan parks’ communities who gave willingly of their time and knowledge to support this study.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes

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