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Caravan Industry Association of Australia today acknowledged the release of the Future Fuel Fund by the Federal government, however highlighted that more needs to be done outside of urban Australia to help regional tourism operators connect with EV users.
“Drive tourism accounts for 75% of all tourism in regional areas, charging infrastructure and activating the accommodation sector to install charging points will be crucial to help a long-term regional tourism recovery” says Stuart Lamont – CEO of Caravan Industry Association of Australia.
Caravan Industry Association of Australia is calling for a matched grants scheme for caravan parks and other regional accommodation providers to invest in charging stations that are suitable to charge all types of electric vehicles. It is estimated that a $3M investment from the Federal government would provide an additional 2000 chargers across 1000 caravan parks in regional Australia.
“Caravan parks around Australia are ideally placed, and sometimes the only accommodations in region, to provide EV charging points to travellers. We know that EV owners base their road trip holidays on where they can charge their vehicle.”
The lack of travel in the past two years has reduced caravan park revenue by $200 million, leaving many companies without capital to invest in upgrades to infrastructure. Lamont argues this is how the government can assist in a longer term rebuild of regional tourism following a devastating 20-months as well as help ease the transition to EVs for regional communities dependent on drive tourism.
“Regional tourism’s biggest barrier is access, and with 2000 caravan parks around Australia, all with the space to add EV chargers, the government should utilise this.”