Crucial revenue: Council's caravan parks on track for record year

The latest figures from the council's economic development and tourism team showed more than 9000 visitors booked to stay across its six caravan parks between Boxing Day and the end of January, 2024.

A council spokesperson said those statistics were on par with the 2022-23 financial year when the council recorded its biggest ever booking numbers. The booking data doesn't account for drive-in arrivals so there is a good chance this year's numbers will set a fresh record.

All of the council's coastal caravan parks - Southcombe and Gardens in Port Fairy, Yambuk and Killarney - were at capacity as of January 3 with Koroit Caravan Park also fully booked.

The Southcombe and Gardens Caravan Parks made up the majority of the bookings with 8000 people locked in across 800 sites for the season. The Port Fairy parks will notch at least 80 per cent occupancy throughout the summer with drive-ins likely to push that figure even higher.

Visitor numbers at the council's other caravan park in Mortlake aren't generally as strong in midsummer but the data showed bookings at the lakeside facility were already higher than 2022-23.

Mayor Ian Smith said it was pleasing to see more than 3000 people occupying the council's caravan parks on a single day.

"It's been fantastic to see our parks full and people enjoying everything the Moyne Shire has to offer," Cr Smith said.

"I'm also pleased that while it's not at capacity, the Mortlake Caravan Park has also had strong bookings across the peak period with more than 60 people staying."

Cr Smith pointed out the huge economic boon the parks represented to the area, especially Port Fairy, where the population regularly tripled over summer as tourists flooded in.

"Port Fairy... has been incredibly busy and businesses are reporting they have been flat out with locals and holidaymakers enjoying the break," he said.

But while the parks play an important role in the local economy, they've also assumed an increasingly handy role in the council's finances.

The council's most recent annual report showed its caravan parks brought in more than $5 million in 2022-23, more than $1 million higher than expected. It was the second all time revenue record in two years, and helped the council notch a $2.4 million operating surplus.

The shire's financial data showed caravan park fees made up nearly half the user fees the council collected across its dozens of services.

That extra million dollars per year will become increasingly important if the council's operating budget is squeezed by government rate caps and rising costs.

Cr Smith warned on January 3 that the council faced a difficult 2024-25 budget after the state government announced a 2.75 per cent rate cap, especially as tight federal and state budgets cause grant allocations to dry up.

The shire's economic development manager Darby Lee said the council had been working hard to increase visitor numbers outside the peak season with a range of booking incentives. It has also been reinvesting in the parks to ensure their long term viability with Gardens Caravan Park getting $1 million for essential electrical upgrades in 2023.