Arthur Budgen, who administrates the www.freechoicecamps.com.au website, said Warrnambool and the Great Ocean Road had a shocking reputation with recreational vehicle travellers due to constant bad reports on social media and internet chat sites.

Mr Bugden, of Queensland, said the region’s reputation as unwelcoming to freedom campers who camped for free on public land was deterring many cashed-up grey nomads from staying in or visiting south-west coastal areas, including the Warrnambool district. 

He said much of the unfriendly attitude towards grey nomads was due to a perception that confused them with those camping for free on public land because they were travelling on a shoestring budget.

Mr Bugden said they often travelled in recreational vehicles costing from $100,000-$400,000 that had their own toilets and showers and chose to stop on public land away from urban areas as a matter of choice rather than cost.

Freedom camping by grey nomads and backpackers were two different markets, he said.

Mr Bugden said grey nomads often chose that method because it offered a better experience than staying in a caravan park.

Mr Bugden said fears that freedom camping by grey nomads would take business away from caravan parks were mostly unfounded.

“Most of the people who stop in a freedom camp do it because of what they want to do and would not go to a caravan park,” he said.

Mr Bugden said caravan parks who wanted to tap into the growing holiday trend could provide low cost sites that did not need access to toilets and showers.

The economic benefits that areas could gain by welcoming these campers was exemplified by the gains that Murray Bridge in South Australia was presently reaping by hosting the 2015 Australian Campervan and Motorhome Club rally.

The club had 66,000 members and the rally had attracted people in about 750 recreational vehicles who were contributing a lot of money into Murray Bridge’s economy, Mr Bugden said.

Moyne Shire mayor Colin Ryan said freedom camping had been a mostly positive experience for his shire.

Cr Ryan said the council had taken a low-key approach to it, such as providing a dump point in Macarthur’s main street so people in motorhomes could offload their sewage.

A popular freedom camping site in Moyne Shire is by the Mount Emu Creek at Panmure and Cr Ryan said it had so far been a very positive experience for the local community.

The camping site was kept very clean by campers who also spent money in the township, he said.