Supporting Local Holiday Parks in the Wake of the Flood Crisis

As the clean up continues across SEQ and NSW in the wake of the flood crisis, holiday parks and resorts along the East Coast have been hit hard.

In 2019, the total number of  caravan and camping visitor nights exceeded 60 million and 14 million trips for the first time. Since then, the travel and tourism industry has been severely impacted by lockdowns and the travel restrictions- both local and international- as a result of the COVID pandemic.

Now, as the world is beginning to get back on its feet with travel starting to kick off once again, countless holiday destinations and caravan parks have been damaged, destroyed or put out of action by the flood crisis.

We recently reached out to Geoff Illich, General Manager of Brisbane Holiday village to see how his park had been impacted by the floods in SEQ.

“The majority of our staff were isolated not from COVID but from floods. Then the rain kept coming and coming.

“People were stranded on roads and couldn’t go north or south…

All suburbs along the Brisbane River were realising the dangers ahead as we hit 6pm on the Sunday. I must have been the only accommodation provider in Brisbane taking calls and i filled up over a dozen people who were desperate. It was honesty invigorating helping out so many lovely people. 

Geoff went on to explain that, despite the fact that a huge clean up effort was required, he considered himself and his park to be one of the lucky ones.

“Our village is lucky to be high and dry along with only a few small water leaks, but we have looked after so many families now who call us home until they can salvage theirs.

We are desperately trying to clean cabins with limited staff to help out more flood affected families and we sent a shipment of food off to Lismore today to do our bit.

Brisbane went through this in 2011 and it bought back all the same memories,” Geoff explained.

Get Out and Support Your Local Holiday Park

Now, as the clean-up continues, at RV Boss we’re urging Aussies (as long as it’s safe to do so) to head out and support their local caravan and holiday parks. With the school holidays fast approaching, a camping holiday is the perfect break for the whole family. And if a longer stay isn’t an option, a weekend getaway in your RV is the perfect way to relax and unwind.

We also spoke with MJ, the General Manager of Campstay which is an online booking tool for campers and RVers, is also encouraging campers to get out there and boost the tourism industry.

“In light of COVID times, we’ve seen a strong upward surge in locals embracing weekender getaways close to home and on a more frequent rate. Not only are families enjoying the great outdoors after the last couple of years in and out of lockdowns, but they are supporting an industry that offers a direct boost for local economy with each new adventure.

“Keen campers looking to plan a multi-stay trip can jump on our site to plan out their trip and book all in one convenient transaction,” MJ said.

To support the RV industry in the wake of the flood crisis, book a stay at one of the many epic holiday parks that QLD or NSW have to offer, head to Campstay today! Or if you’re keen to book a Brisbane camping holiday, go to the Brisbane Holiday village website.