Associations collaborate on sustainability for caravanning and camping sector

Ecotourism Australia and Caravan Industry Association of Australia have partnered to create a pathway to sustainability for caravanning and camping tourism enterprises in Australia through Ecotourism Australia’s Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia is the peak national body representing the Caravanning and Camping Industry in Australia while Ecotourism Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, established in 1991 and recognised as the national peak body for sustainable and nature-based tourism in Australia.

Launched in late 2022, the Sustainable Tourism pathway program supports the tourism industry and the tourism supply to address the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impacts, socio-economic impacts, and cultural impacts. It includes the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard pre-certification benchmarking tool; and the flagship ECO Certification program (for nature-based tourism businesses) and the new Sustainable Tourism Certification for non-nature-based businesses, both of which have a standard recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

Over 6,000 businesses operate across the caravan and camping supply chain in Australia, with caravanning and camping generating $11.2 billion in visitor expenditure in 2022.

Caravanning and camping remains the number one provider of holiday nights across regional Australia with record levels of trips and nights undertaken up to March 2023, while the pipeline remains strong post COVID with a record number of Australians also registering new caravanning and camping product.

Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive, Elissa Keenan advised “Caravanning and camping is one of Australia’s favourite pastimes providing access to predominately regional nature experiences.  Notably, over a third of our 120 ECO Certified accommodations around Australia offer caravanning, camping and glamping experiences.

“We are excited to see the peak national body for the caravanning and camping industry, Caravan Industry Association of Australia, partner with Ecotourism Australia, drawing from its 30 years of experience to kickstart a pathway to sustainable tourism.”

Caravan Industry Association of Australia Chief Executive, Stuart Lamont enthused “as an important contributor to the Australian tourism industry, and being heavily connected to land and people, we are thrilled to partner with Ecotourism Australia as we welcome the wider industry to start their sustainability journey using their Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard.

“Caravanning and camping has immense potential to be part of the growing responsible travel movement in Australia and to lead regional small to medium-sized business toward innovative sustainability.”

The Australian Caravan and Camping industry is a $27.1 billion industry that directly employs 53,000 people, manufactures locally more than 20,000 vehicles per annum, services over 740,000 vehicles on the road, generates 12 million trips and 60 million visitor nights in caravan parks across the country.

Ecotourism Australia has global partnerships, working with GSTC, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Green Destinations (an international organisation for sustainable destination development) and key partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region including with WWF-Australia, Parks Australia and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).

To learn more about the pre-certification benchmarking program, Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard

Image. Caravan Industry Association of Australia Chief Executive Stuart Lamont and Elissa Keenan, Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive