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from Cove magazine
ROAD TRIPPING
Many of us plan to travel big, far and wide in Australia in 2022.
RECENT RESEARCH by leading van-sharing platform Camplify reveals many Australians intend to travel for longer periods – and further across the country – this year.
Most will self-drive, and many aspire to be on the road for multiple weeks or even months.
Their key motivations for road trip travel are to feel free, reconnect with people and nature, and spend time in Australia’s most iconic places.
Camplify has identified six key trends shaping how people will travel in 2022.
1. Aussies plan to travel further, do more and stay longer.
Aussies will embrace road trip getaways throughout 2022, with their ‘must-dos’ including visits to iconic destinations and quintessentially Australian experiences.
As such, travel aspirations are as big and diverse as the country itself.
According to the company’s research, 54% of respondents said they would like to travel in a van for around two months or more in 2022, allowing enough time to see more of Australia and explore bucket list destinations. Priority road trip activities include: • Visiting and watching the sunset at Uluru - 55% • Driving down the Great Ocean Road - 45% • Exploring outback Australia - 38% • Hiking Cradle Mountain - 27% • Swimming with whale sharks in Exmouth - 26% • Enjoying snow sports in the Snowy Mountains - 23% • Spotting penguins on Phillip Island - 24% • Snapping a selfie with a Quokka - 22% • Seeing a Koala in the wild - 20% • Sightseeing with crocodiles - 21%
2. Non-static, self-drive holidays offer people the freedom they’ve been craving.
Revealing why people want to road trip travel in Australia in 2022, Camplify’s research showed the priority motivations include: the freedom of having no set plan (63%); spending quality time with family (43%) and friends (20%); getting to know ‘the real’ Australia (15%), meeting new people (31%), eating local (39%) and spending time in local communities/supporting local businesses (20%).
Other factors include respecting Australia’s indigenous heritage, natural places and wildlife (33%), learning more about Australia’s culture and history (29%) and outdoor activities such as swimming (24%) and hiking (26%).
Self-drive motorhomes offer the ultimate freedom, as well as the ability to pivot between places quickly.
They also offer a simple solution for fast and easy road tripping.
3. Van life transitions to van lifestyle.
Van stays now represent approximately 20% of tourism nights in Australia, with around a quarter of people intending to experience ‘van life’ for the first time in 2022.
Being outdoors isn’t just a holiday anymore, it has become a lifestyle choice for many as people shake off old travel habits and try new things.
The key signals of redefined caravan and camping in 2022 include:
Aussies looking to incorporate a luxe lifestyle into their travel.
Many are opting for RVs that include onboard bathrooms, making van stays ‘apartments on wheels’.
Vans-on-demand: no towing or driving involved, just arrive, unpack and relax. Offering the ultimate hands-free camping experience, around 20% of Camplify users now opt for ‘van delivery’, whereby owners deliver the chosen van to a specified destination campsite, set it up and pack it down for the hirer post-trip.
As attitudes shift towards the flexibility of home-based work, many people are looking to blend remote working with travel or being able to work from anywhere.
4. Pets go on tour too in 2022.
This year holidays will include the entire family, whereby dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish and guinea pigs will be invited too.
5. Young people are challenging stereotypes.
The caravan and camping experience is being redefined by ‘play nomads’ as more young people own, list and hire vans than ever before.
Challenging traditional grey-nomad van-ownership stereotypes, this growing trend of younger owners and hirers is re-energising and redefining caravan and camping as we know it.
In doing so, they are bringing positive economic impact to rural and suburban Australia.
6. Travel at arm’s length.
Socially distanced outdoor road trips enable people to travel with confidence, despite COVID-19 challenges.
With RVs providing a mostly or totally self-contained option for travellers, van-hire continues to be a popular domestic choice as people consider their personal safety and wellbeing coupled with a growing appetite for freedom, outdoor adventures and a desire to reconnect with nature and explore more of Australia.
New off-grid stay opportunities are also opening up.
Delivering on social distancing during anxious times, Hipcamp offers private property campsites.
The company tripled their available off-grid locations – and their host numbers doubled year on year in 2021 – as property owners found ways to diversify their income and ‘open the paddock gate’ to motorhomes and caravans.
As Australians begin to embrace the ‘new normal’, travel remains an integral part of our lifestyle.
Self-contained RVs give Aussies the freedom to create their own memorable, slow-paced travel to Australia’s bucket list experiences and iconic places while also enjoying the flexibility caravanning provides.
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