Caravan Towing Mirrors

ONCE a year, hundreds of caravans, motorhomes, camper trailers and off-road vehicles roll into Caulfield Racecourse in Victoria.

They line up alongside masses of tents and camping gear to create the Caravan, Camping & Touring Supershow - claimed as the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

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More of us are swapping foreign trips for UK breaks as the credit crunch bites. And that's one reason why caravans are still so popular. Liz Rowley talks to three families to find out why they love caravan holidays.

APPROXIMATELY 4.5 million of us plan to take a break in the UK this year. And according to The Caravan Club, bookings on their sites are already up by 40 per cent. What's more, year on year their membership continues to increase.

The National Caravan Council says half a million touring caravans and 164,000 motor homes are in use in the UK – and this upward trend in caravan popularity is also reflected in sales at Silverdale-based dealership North Staffs Caravans.

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CARAVAN and camping sites across the country are facing a busy summer as holiday-makers swap foreign vacations for trips closer to home.

Park owners are experiencing a boost in the number of bookings they are taking for the summer season.

Many are attributing the rise to an increasing number of people opting to holiday at home to save money.

Caravan parks also reported full houses over the Easter holiday, with visitors coming from across the country for a long break.

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Blue skies and the credit crunch appear to have given the Welsh tourist industry a welcome kick start, say operators.

As the Easter holidays come to an end, Pembrokeshire Tourism, which represents 500 holiday businesses said it had seen a "huge upsurge" in late bookings.

North Wales Tourism said better than forecast weather over the bank holidays helped boost trade.

The Caravan Club also said it has seen a 40% increase in bookings this year.

A key feature that also seems to have emerged in the rise in the use of the internet to grab late bookings.

Barry Chapman, manager of the Hotel Plas Hyfryd at Narbeth in Pembrokeshire said: "Although traditionally its never a really busy time of year for us, this year broke the mould.

"With leisure guests up by over 50% and a number of guest booking for the whole three night period, we are delighted with the results of our new on line marketing campaign."

Nick Evans, chairman of Pembrokeshire Tourism added: "It's encouraging to see more market confidence from a high percentage of our members across the tourism spectrum."

Sunshine

Mr Evans counterpart at North Wales Tourism, Chris Jackson, was a little more cautious, but agreed that there had been a positive start to the tourism season.

"Operators are reasonably happy. It's the start of the season in north Wales and we have benefitted from good weather - much better than the weather forecasted," said Mr Jackson.

"There has been some last minute bookings and the visitor attractions have done rather well."

But Mr Jackson said his members were "not throwing their hats in the air" just yet.

He said many were hoping that the recession would see more people looking to holiday closer to home, and that the industry was "looking ahead cautiously".

One part of the tourism sector that definitely appears to have benefitted is the caravan park operator.

'Value'

According to The Caravan Club, which owns and operates 200 sites across Britain, it has seen bookings for 2009 already up by 40%.

It said its network of parks in Wales were at 90% occupancy for the Easter holidays.

"I think people in the current climate are looking where they get real value and are making the most of their own time," said the club's spokeswoman Fiona Bewers.

"New families are taking up caravanning as a fun option, it gives them flexibility to go when and where they want."

Source: BBC