City declared RV Friendly Town

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn on location at the Francis Street carpark where free 24hr free overnight parking is available for campervans and self-contained RVs.

A five-year long Council aspiration for the City to become more RV friendly has been fulfilled with Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia officially declaring Geraldton an RV Friendly TownTM. 

To qualify for the program, the City had to meet the needs of RV travellers which include easy access to general shopping areas, provision of low cost overnight parking for self-contained vehicles, access to potable water and a free RV dumping point. 

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said joining the network of 270 RV Friendly Towns across Australia with RV Friendly status will deliver direct benefits to the local community. 

“By joining the network, the City of Greater Geraldton will be promoted to RV travellers across Australia through the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) magazine, website and social media,” he said. 

“With the self-contained RV tourism market estimated to be worth more than $2.5 billion annually, Geraldton is now well positioned to access this lucrative market. 

“We already know that if we can capture just those visitors who currently bypass our City we can realistically increase overnight stays by 50% which would result in an estimated $9.5 million annual boost to our local economy.” 

According to CMCA Chairman Garry Lee, the CMCA RV Friendly TownTM network makes a significant contribution to the RV tourism market in Australia. 

“The number of registered RVs in Australia is expected to grow to more than 700,000 vehicles by 2020 as more baby boomers enter the market and regional Australia, which includes the City of Greater Geraldton, will benefit from this extraordinary growth,” he said. 

“Through a combination of social media and word of mouth RV tourists will quickly let their fellow travellers know what a great place Geraldton is to visit and experience what it is that makes this City region unique.” 

In an effort to further increase RV tourism in the area, the City will also be initiating a pilot project that utilises smart phone technology to notify holiday makers of the availability of overnight parking bays at the Francis Street carpark. 

“In the coming months the City will be trialling a mobile phone app called RV Parking Solution which informs passing traffic as to the number of RV parking bays in the Francis Street carpark, number of bays available, when bays will become available and the facilities available for use on site,” said Mayor Van Styn. 

For more information on visiting Geraldton go to the visitor centre website www.visitgeraldton.com.au