The caravan industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, but an expected boom in domestic travel is the light at the end of the tunnel.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Albury-Wodonga RV World director Colin Haynes was relieved to learn Melbourne manufacturers were returning to 85 per cent operation capacity this week.
"We had a really good month in July, but our income for August/September is probably down 60 per cent," he said.
"It's a combination of not being able to get new product and spare parts and people not being confident they can travel at all.
"We haven't been able to get product since early August - we have about 35 vans on order that we were to get in August or September."
Mr Haynes said Melbourne manufacturers weren't expecting the Victorian government would impose a complete shutdown on work.
"Not to that extent - they were hoping they were going to at least be partially operating," he said.
"It sort of put the brakes on the whole industry.
"We're hoping now they're back at work, they can really have a look at where they are with manufacturing."
The Border Caravan and Camping Expo did not take place in late August, with a Victorian Caravan and Camping Virtual Show running this weekend.
"What will change the industry a fair bit is there will be no shows for perhaps six or nine months," Mr Haynes said.
"There's talk of the Melbourne show late-February not happening.
"We'll operate our own yard sales going forward, to try and replace the shows."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Promisingly, first-time buyers continue to attend Mr Haynes' showrooms on Watson Street in Wodonga.
"Some are amazed they're here - they've never before had interest in caravans," he said.
"I think our attitudes have changed a lot now - we go into a crowd and we tend to want to step back.
"We're already getting a lot of people saying 'please repair our van' - they're going to Bright, Mildura or somewhere.
"We're really confident the industry will spike in the new year.
"I think it's going to play into our hands that overseas travel will not be on."
Border closures are standing in the way of that - and the Haynes family and their team have been driving purchased and repaired vans to meet customers in Albury.
"We can see a spike in our industry in relation to Australian travel, once the borders are opened up - which we hope will be in the next month or two," Mr Haynes said.
"There's that many beautiful spots around the North East.
"The restrictions have been really hard, but we're confident coming out of it."
