Caravan parks industry reports mixed summer business

by Chris Jefferies
The rising cost of fuel has partly offset the rise in popularity of staycation holidays this summer, with caravan parks reporting mixed results for the busy season.
Despite recent research by the national tourist board VisitEngland that suggested that caravan park owners have fared better than B&B owners in 2011, many individual cases have been far less positive.
George Stevenson, owner of the Invercauld Caravan Club site in Aberdeeenshire, recently told the Donside Piper and Herald that he was experiencing his “worst summer in six years”.
One of the factors blamed for the lack of visitors is the rising cost of petrol, which has made many caravan owners think twice before planning long-distance journeys.
However, this can benefit some sites, with regulars likely to stay longer, as Kerry Crow, manager of the Silverbank Caravan Club site, told the local paper.
“We have had a very good summer season so far with the site often full but there has definitely been a change in the attitude of visitors,” she said.
“In previous years we would see people stay for one night before travelling to another part of the country but this year the majority of visitors are staying in one place longer largely because of the price of fuel.”
The research by VisitEngland, which was released as part of the tourist board’s July Business Confidence Monitor, shows that 45 per cent of caravan site proprietors reported visitor numbers at a similar level to those seen last year.
Nonetheless, 86 per cent of caravan park owners said that they were either very satisfied or quite satisfied with the performance of their business.