It is a noisy world out there. Screens, schedules, crisis headlines and very little room left for each other. Caravan and camping is where Australians get that connection back.

Australians are searching for connection, and increasingly they are searching for it outdoors. They want fewer things and better time. They want to travel with people rather than past them. They want a few days where nobody is chasing them, the phone is flat and the conversation runs long over a cold beverage around a fire.

That search starts on a dealership floor, at a park gate, at a caravan show. It does not end there. What people take away is not the van or the site. It is a few days where the world outside stopped asking anything of them, and everyone they care about was in one place, at one table, at the same time. That is what brings them back the following year, and the year after that, or keeps them on the road for good. It is the real richness in what caravan and camping provides.

Real Richness is our new report on the social and wellness benefits of caravan and camping in Australia. It draws on 2,000 Australians, 1,000 campers and 1,000 people who have not camped since 2023. It confirms what our industry has watched happen for decades, on sites, in showrooms and on the road. 

People are not after a powered site or a van. They are after time with the people they love, a night under a sky they can actually see, and a few days of being the better version of themselves.

What campers told us

• 93% say camping generates happy memories

• 92% say camping can make you happier

• 91% say camping makes you appreciate nature more

• 90% say camping relieves stress

• 87% say camping brings families closer together

• 87% say camping makes them feel more in touch with nature

"We always feel more grounded when close to nature. It is important to recalibrate when life is overwhelming and stressful."
Joanne, Queensland

Camping also does something very few holidays manage. 74% of campers say camping is a great people leveller and 71% say it is accessible to everyone regardless of income. With households weighing up every dollar, 67% of campers see camping as an affordable option when financial pressures increase. A campground is one of the last places in Australian life where the site next door could belong to anyone, and by the second night you know their names.

For families the case is stronger again. 93% of campers say camping allows children to learn about the environment, 92% say it teaches children life skills and 91% say it teaches them to engage socially. Three in four campers believe camping should be part of the school curriculum.

Why you should review the report

Access to research like Real Richness is one of the benefits of working with Caravan Industry Association of Australia. The full report is available to businesses contributing to the National Advocacy & Marketing Fund, and it gives contributors evidence they can put to work in their own business:

• A clear reminder for your team of what guests and customers are really there for

• Credible findings to use in your marketing and sales conversations

• Evidence for councils, planners and local government on why access to camping and caravan parks matters to community wellbeing

• Support for your case with local media, schools and community groups

Caravan and camping contributes $27.1 billion to the Australian economy each year, and 87% of trips are taken in regional Australia. Real Richness is about the other return: what those trips give back to the people taking them, and to the communities that welcome them in.

To find out more, head here Real Richness Report