RV travellers who typically spend about $850 a week in the local community are set to give Beerwah a wide berth following the Sunshine Coast Council’s decision to cancel a caretaker contract at the Sportsground camp site.
Australia’s largest RV club, The CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia) said it was also considering removing Beerwah’s status as an ‘RV Friendly Town’.
This latest development announced during peak traveller season for those migrating north to escape the southern winter chill has frustrated RV advocates, and amplified concerns within the RV community that the Sunshine Coast lacks adequate low-cost facilities to attract and retain the burgeoning and often cashed-up mobile traveller community.
CMCA chief executive, Richard Barwick, said it was a disappointing outcome after the council earlier gave the green light to a caretaker only to renege on the deal days later. He said the move would affect local businesses that are attempting to regain sustainable momentum following the Covid pandemic He also questioned the council’s argument that it was reviewing the ‘suitability of the sports ground’, saying the facility had operated successfully for decades.
“Tens of thousands of people over the years have used the rest and overnight camping facilities at the sportsground, so surely the suitability for temporary camping has been well established,” he said.
“The RV community will have no option now but to bypass Beerwah, and businesses will suffer as travellers will now just continue north or look to inland options rather than stay at Beerwah.” Mr Barwick said it had been well documented that RV travellers brought additional social and economic capital into regional areas, and that it was important to offer low to moderate cost camping options to continue to attract patronage, especially as vehicles become more self-contained and less dependent on commercial caravan park facilities.
He said around two thirds of the CMCA membership travelling at any given time would be happy to prioritise stops that offer safe and secure parking with access to a local community, and said the average $850 per week spend per vehicle was a much-welcomed boost to local businesses. Mr Barwick said around 850,000 RVs were registered in Australia, with approximately up to 100,000-150,000 on the road at any given time.
“With the Bruce Highway a major touring route, we need to give people a reason to stop and not bypass the local communities on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
“Currently there are limited low-moderate cost RV camping facilities available. We are seeing more parks closing rather than opening which impacts town patronage and the subsequent flow-on benefit to local economy.”
Volunteer Ambassador at Glass House Visitors Information Centre and long-standing member of CMCA, Cliff Schnick, said as an experienced motorhome traveller and local tourism advocate, he realised how important facilities like those offered at Beerwah Sportsground were to many mobile travellers and the communities they visit.
He said part of his role at the Visitors Information Centre was to provide advice to travellers on all sorts of needs and issues, including what camping facilities existed in the region. Last week he was advised to no longer direct visitors to the Beerwah campground with the suggestion that the facilities were closed indefinitely until further notice.
“The fact is that this area is particularly poorly catered for in regard to camping,” he said.
“Now the sports grounds are closed it leaves the area of near zero options. I recognise that there are commercial caravan parks, however the mobile travelling public want options which suit their needs and budgets. Businesses other than caravan parks are collateral casualties when those options are removed, to say nothing about the reputation to the beautiful region we live in,” said Mr Schnick.
Main image: Volunteer Ambassador at Glass House Visitors Information Centre Cliff Schnick