At first glance, a wheelchair ramp or an accessible bathroom may seem like small additions to a campground. But across regional Australia, these features are reshaping the economics of caravan parks, expanding customer reach, and deepening community ties.
According to data from the Caravan Industry Association of Australia’s (CIAA) report Investing in Quality: Lessons Learnt from the 2023 Caravan Park Grant Program, recent upgrades at parks in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales show that accessibility investments deliver more than compliance—they open new markets and extend the value of each visitor’s stay.
Designing for Inclusion
Take Berri Riverside Holiday Park in South Australia as an example. In a competitive regional market, the park made a decisive move to install the area’s first fully accessible playground within a holiday park.
It wasn’t just about adding a few compliant features, it was a complete rethink of how families with diverse needs engage with shared spaces.
From inclusive swings to wheelchair-friendly carousels, the space allows children with disabilities to participate alongside their peers.
The investment sends a message: this park is for everyone. The result isn’t just moral leadership, but market differentiation.
The playground is now a drawcard for families choosing between parks and plays a role in retaining existing guests, particularly those planning multigenerational or group trips where accessibility is a key factor.
Infrastructure That Extends Stays
Further east, BIG4 Moruya Heads Easts Dolphin Beach Holiday Park tackled accessibility with a dual focus: play and accommodation.
The park installed inclusive playground equipment and built a fully accessible cabin with features like roll-in showers and step-free thresholds.
For the East family, who operate the park, the cabin has already begun to attract disability service providers booking group stays.
These groups don’t just show up for a night, however, they stay longer and tend to return. Their visits create a knock-on effect, with local cafes, supermarkets, and tourism operators benefiting from the extended presence.
For Moruya Heads, accessible tourism is a growth market.
Economic Impact of Inclusive Infrastructure
In Victoria, NRMA Halls Gap Holiday Park took a different approach, developing a purpose-built Accessible Villa designed to accommodate families and groups traveling with someone with a disability.
The emphasis was on enabling shared experiences—group cooking, socializing on the deck, and full access to park facilities. The goal was not just compliance, but comfort.
The investment is projected to generate more than 230 visitor nights annually, along with over $190,000 in direct economic benefit to the region. But the broader gain is strategic: Halls Gap now has an edge in one of Victoria’s busiest national park gateways.
Swimming, often off-limits to travelers with mobility limitations, has also become a focal point for change.
In Far North Queensland, Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park and NRMA Palm Cove Holiday Park both constructed accessible pools.
At Palm Cove, the pool was a solution to a real problem: site vacancies during marine stinger season. Now, with aquatic wheelchair access and step-free entry, guests can swim safely year-round.
At Lake Tinaroo, the pool integrates with a broader wellness offering that includes hydrotherapy. Park owners say guests using these features are staying longer and planning return visits.
Even in smaller towns like Cowell on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, simple infrastructure shifts are making a difference. The local foreshore caravan park built a fully accessible camp kitchen and amenities block.
While modest in scale, the upgrades transformed the park into a year-round option for travelers with mobility needs, particularly older Australians, who are a growing part of the domestic tourism market.
Accessibility Means Business
What ties these projects together is a shared outcome: accessibility is good for business.
These are not just stories about feel-good improvements; they’re case studies in expanding market share, increasing average stay lengths, and stimulating local economies.
For many of these parks, the accessibility dollar is proving to be a loyal one. Visitors with mobility or sensory needs are not only underserved, they’re often repeat travelers who spend more per trip.
Accessible infrastructure is no longer a bonus. For parks looking to stay competitive and communities aiming to grow regional tourism, it’s becoming a baseline, one that clearly states that building for everyone brings lasting returns.