Holiday park guests spend $1.2 billion - chasing the camping dollar

Wednesday, 17 April 2019

During the school holidays Suzanne Viveen and Michiel Overweel gave their Motueka family of five a taste of city life by staying in a holiday park near Christchurch Airport.

The $55 a night cost of a caravan site at the North South Holiday Park was a bargain compared with what they would have paid for a motel, and Viveen said they could afford a few treats like visiting the nearby Antarctic Centre.

'The kids really love the campsite because there's a playground and other kids around to play with.'

Despite the budget reputation of holiday parks, total spending by guests hit $1.2b last year, and a summer survey commissioned by the Holiday Parks Association showed where the money went.

North South Holiday Park owner Dan Fraser says visitors appreciate small touches like the park's photogenic jandal fence and pedal cars for the kids.

* Holiday parks earn more than $1 billion a year

* Holiday parks cash in on hardy winter visitors**

Along with $190m worth of snacks and groceries, $161m on admission fees and attractions, and $105m on eating out, the list of rather more off beat items included model planes, vacuum hire, and a snoring guard.

Holiday Parks Association chief executive Fergus Brown said the sector's value was on a par with the racing industry and almost three times that of the cruise industry.

'People think about holiday parks as being at the budget end of the market, but they're very important and if you close a holiday park, you lose people filling up with petrol, buying retail and stopping at cafes,' Brown said.

The average daily spend per person had dropped to $144 over the past three years, and campervanners spent about $20 a day more on average than other guests.

Kiwis make up 60 per cent of holiday park customers. Michiel Overweel, Suzanne Viveen and their three children Elvi (4), Luc (18 months) and Fenne (7) from Motueka spent a few days at Christchurch's North South Holiday Park. They say facilities like playgrounds make holiday parks a family friendly option.

A softening of the tourism market saw occupancy rates at hotels, motel and backpacker hostels fall slightly over the summer.

Holiday parks were less affected, in part because 60 per cent of customers were Kiwis, and growth in visitors in the 45-plus age group helped compensate for a drop in those under the age of 35.

'We're definitely seeing a flattening off and it's come a hell of a lot quicker than people thought,' Brown said.

'Most internationals you get them once, whereas domestic visitors come every year, so if you offer them a good product and value them, they can be of real long term benefit to a community.'

The survey showed tenting is less popular these days but North South Holiday Park owner Dan Fraser said that last summer he had about 20 to 30 Christchurch families who opted to give their children a camping experience close to home while they continued working.

Even so, demand is growing for 'roofed' units ranging from basic cabins to fully equipped motel units, and he is responding to requests for private rather than shared bathroom facilities.

'People also like the privacy of bedrooms rather than open plan rooms, parents want to put the kids to bed and sit back and have a wine and watch TV.'

Free unlimited wi-fi is another must have for international guests wanting to book their next destination.

Tents are declining in popularity with only 21 per cent of holiday park guests using them last summer as more opt to stay in cabins and units.

And they appreciated the Instagram potential of the park's 'jandal wall' which grew out of the footwear left behind by Malaysian visitors who often bought jandals for indoor use.

Like most of the country's 400-plus commercial holiday parks, Fraser has his business listed on the CamperMate app which researchers found was the most popular site with international tourists planning holidays.

It has 50,000 users a day during peak season, and encourages road trippers to open their wallets by providing details of more than 2000 accommodation, food and tourism activity operators.

Tourists staying in holiday parks spent $161m on activities and admission fees last year. By next summer the CamperMate app will allow them to book direct while on the road and it is hoped that will help further boost spending.

CamperMate's geo-sensing ability means users can search for attractions or businesses within a specified radius, and by the coming summer they will be able to book directly through CamperMate too.

Brown said the app had potential to boost spending by pushing special deals direct to users.

Two thirds of overseas visitors staying in holiday parks travel in campervans and they spend on average about $20 a day more than other guests.

'If it's 4.30pm a park can set their automated property management systems to put out a deal through CamperMate. It's got enormous power.'

CamperMate and its counterpart across the Tasman, Roadtrippers Australasia, recently merged with camping booking site GoSeeAustralia and camping gear sales site Outdoria.

Nick Baker, chief executive of Outdoria and former chief marketing officer for Tourism Australia, said the aim was to provide road trippers with relevant information when they needed it.

'I think the biggest opportunity to increase spend in New Zealand, and also dispersal into other areas, is by having more and more tourism attractions listed on the app.

'People will traditionally not book tours – anything from whale watching to zip-lining –before they come, because they don't know where they will be, or what the weather will be like.

'The whole idea is to make it easier for people to find the right experience and the right accommodation when they are on the road.'

Although the focus was still on the camping market, the app includes motels and hotels to cater for those travelling in rental cars who wanted that style of accommodation, said Baker.