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.

Executive officer of Caravan Industry Victoria Peter Wright said caravanning and camping holidays had grown in popularity, especially in recent years.

"From tents and camping equipment to caravans and new motorhomes, we're seeing great improvements in their design, comfort and range," he said.

"The same can be said of caravan holiday parks, many of which have undergone great renovations to facilities and amenities.

"As a result, we've seen Australians hitting the road in droves."

At this year's show, which starts next Wednesday, visitors will see all the latest caravans, motorhomes, campers and tent trailers.

It will also have camping and outdoor equipment, accessories, a large area devoted to tourism information and regional specialists who will be happy to give holiday advice.

"We've got a great line-up of industry experts to offer free, informative seminars each day," Peter said.

"There'll be activities for the kids, including Dora the Explorer on Saturday.

Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au

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.

Managing director Tim Keats, says sales of touring caravans are up around 10 per cent on last year, which he puts down to a number of factors.

"Locally there is a significant upturn in caravan sales purely because it's good value for money," he says.

"When the pound is so weak against the Euro making foreign holidays expensive, people are looking for alternatives and caravanning is one of those options.

"For six, seven or eight thousand pounds people can buy a great used caravan, and at the moment we are just as busy as ever, especially with the holiday season coming up."

Nikki Nichol, at The Caravan Club agrees.

"Last year was a great year for caravanning in the UK, but this year our bookings are already up 40 per cent and occupancy for January was up 22 per cent. But it's not just the price that attracts so many people to holiday in this way. The beauty of our countryside and the vast improvements to caravans in general are also appealing.

"People can't afford to travel as much so they are falling back in love with the UK," she adds, "and it doesn't matter whether you want a city centre break or a couple of weeks in the countryside, caravanning offers it all – it really is a home from home."

Caravan facts:

There are more than one million caravans in the UK including 500,000 touring caravans, 330,000 caravan holiday homes and 135,000 motor homes.

In recent years the UK has become the largest market in Europe for touring caravans, with the West Midlands having the highest level of ownership.

This year it is estimated approximately 13.75 million bookings will be made for caravan holidays in Britain. Two million more than 2007.

The UK caravan industry is estimated to be worth in excess of six billion pounds per annum.

Caravans date back to Marco Polo in the 13th century, and are referred to in Charles Dickens's Old Curiosity Shop of 1841.

Source: thisisstaffordshire.co.uk

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.

Dennis Smith, who owns Hillhead Caravan Park at Kintore, Aberdeenshire, said an increasing number of families were buying caravans and storing them on his site.

The 120-vehicle storage area is at capacity and has a waiting list of up to a month, which is a 30% rise in figures from last year.

“There has been an influx of caravans being stored here this year,” he said.

“That has been doing exceptionally well this year.

“I would say people have decided that caravan holidays are cheaper and less stressful than going abroad.

“Many of them want to try the freedom of caravaning.”

The largest vehicles available are being quickly snapped up by enthusiasts who reject the tradition of buying a small secondhand caravan and regularly upgrading it, he added.

The warden at Aboyne Loch Caravan Park on Deeside, Trisha Anderson, said a lot of young couples and groups of young people were choosing to camp.

She also reported more people choosing to book their caravans in for the whole season.

The season started early for Burnside Caravan Park at Fochabers because of the high numbers of visitors looking for somewhere to park their tourers.

A spokesman said bookings for the summer months were coming in “thick and fast”.

“It is just the cost of going abroad,” he said. “People are getting a bit fed up and are preparing to stay at home.”

He predicted that the number of foreign visitors would also rise this year.

“It is more favourable to them now with their exchange rate,” he said. “For the last couple of years it was not cost effective for them but now it’s equalised.”

The story is not positive for everyone. John Campbell, who sells static caravans at Thurso, said sales had dropped dramatically since the recession set in.

“We don’t have a lot of sites up here for putting static caravans in,” he said.

“We sell to people building houses who put the caravans on the site.

“We have hardly sold anything since December.

“The year before there were quite a few going, but people don’t have the money now. There are some people building but not the same extent as was happening before.”

Source: pressandjournal.co.uk

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