Favourable climate and extensive network
Australians love caravanning and camping. They see it as a great way to experience Australia’s open spaces and natural beauty.
The caravan and camping sector is a major contributor to the economy. This is due to:
- Australia’s favourable climate
- an extensive network of camping grounds and sites around the country.
This caravan and camping data is from the National Visitor Survey (NVS).
The number of caravan and camping trips (including glamping) remains steady. In the year ending 2024, Australians took 15.2 million caravan and camping trips. Spend was at $14 billion. This remains well above pre-covid levels.
Of these trips, commercial caravan parks and camping grounds accounted for;
- 56% of trips
- 62% of nights
- 70% of spend.
Caravan and campervan registrations across the nation have steadily grown over the last decade with over 901,000 registered as at January 2024. This was a 27% increase in registrations since 2019 and an all-time record.
Caravan and camping statistics
The year ending December 2024 was the second highest year on record for caravan and camping trips, following the year ending December 2023.
Total trips
In the year ending December 2024:
- there were 15.2 million caravan and camping domestic overnight trips taken
- travellers spent 57.1 million nights away, with 90% of nights in regional Australia
- travellers spent $14.0 billion on their trips, with $10.6 billion spent while travelling, of which 87% or $9.2 billion was in regional Australia
- almost one in every 8 domestic overnight trips was a caravan and camping trip.
Holiday trips
In the year ending December 2024:
- 78% of caravan and camping trips were for holidaying
- a further 12% were for business/employment, while 9% of trips were to visit friends and relatives
- 91% of caravan and camping holiday trips and nights, and 87% of caravan and camping holiday spend ($7.1 billion) were in regional Australia
- commercial sites accounted for 58% of all caravan and camping holiday trips, 65% of nights and 77% of spend.
Impacts on regional Australia
Caravan and camping trips are a major contributor to regional Australia.
In regional Australia, in the year ending December 2024, caravan and camping trips accounted for:
- one in every 5 domestic overnight holiday trips
- almost one in every 4 holiday nights
- one in every 10 dollars spent on holiday trips.
Read more
- Read the National Visitor Survey methodology.
- Find data tables and other publications on our Data and research page.
- We produce a quarterly snapshot of the National Visitor Survey.