The phenomenon that created the remarkable growth in caravanning and camping in Australia is rapidly destroying it. As baby boomers embrace "seachange" and drive the development of more and more coastal residential housing development, Australia's favorite caravan parks are being converted to other uses.
While people at or near retirement maintain the decade-long boom in caravan, motorhome and camping equipment sales, the number of sites in the national inventory has declined substantially.
The massive increase in government charges - land tax, local government and water rates, headworks and a raft of other fees is making caravan parks unviable. The site fees that operators should charge to maintain profitability are unpalatable to travellers, so caravan parks are being redeveloped for "best available use".
The result will inevitably be a reduction in the availablity of sites at desirable locations, increases in site fees and a loss of lifestyle for hundreds of thousands of average Australians.
