Australian households are feeling the squeeze right now. More than half say they are worse off financially than a year ago, and consumer confidence has slipped to its weakest point since late May, in anticipation of another interest rate rise at the Reserve Bank's November meeting. You might expect holiday plans to be the first thing to go. For caravan and camping, that isn't what the latest numbers show.
Caravan parks had a strong October. Cabins averaged $224 a night, revenue per available cabin rose to $152 and national cabin occupancy was reported at 67.8%. Powered and unpowered sites followed a similar performance pattern.
And guests are having a great time and going home happy. Based on reviews collected through Shiji ReviewPro Reputation in October, 82% of guest rated their stays at caravan parks around the country as positive. Nationally, the Global Review Index™ for caravan parks came in at 86.0%.
People are still making plans for the trip, too. Interest online is solid, with Google searches for caravan and camping travel tracking at similar levels to last year.
So while the wider economy is giving people plenty of reasons to cut back, caravan and camping is holding its ground.
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