However, the plan to make the area more “RV friendly” is already causing a decidedly unfriendly rift in the community. 

In the pro corner sits the council and applicants, citing the RVTF as an exciting new market to explore. 

In opposition sit existing caravan park owners, claiming the RVTF will have a disastrous impact on their business. 

RV Friendly Towns are simply towns that offer basic provisions for RV stopovers, most importantly a “dump point” where drivers can unload their sewage waste. 

According to the CMCA guidelines, other essential services are the availability of potable water, provision of short-term, low-cost overnight parking, and good access to a town centre. 

The target market for RV Friendly Towns, as identified by the CMCA, is owners of self-contained RV vehicles that want options of where to stay rather than traditional caravan parks.

 “Research shows that 77 per cent of RV members are more likely to visit and stopover in a RV Friendly Town than a destination without that status,” CMCA manager of government and stakeholder communications Colin Balfour said. 

“The major growth area in RVs in is in self-contained vehicles. 

“These days, if you spend more than $45,000 on an RV, you already have power and amenities on board. 

“Fifteen years ago, just motorhomes were fitted with amenities, but now caravans do too. 

“These clients just want a cheap place to park for the night, and a dump site. 

“They don’t want to be paying for additional services.” 

Mr Balfour said research conducted four years ago by government agency Tourism Research Australia revealed only 34 per cent of RV drivers stay in caravan parks, 16 per cent never stay in caravan parks, and 50 per cent use a mix of commercial and non-commercial accommodation. 

Mr Balfour said this latter percentage is higher now, pointing to RV drivers wanting choice. 

And with 430,000 registered RVs in Australia, and another 120,000 new RVs being purchased each year, councils and towns are under increasing pressure to offer this choice if they’re to capitalise on this lucrative, burgeoning market.

“Unlike normal tourists who just do touristy things, RV travellers literally have their home on wheels, and interact with a town very differently,” Mr Balfour said. 

“They visit the supermarket, hairdresser, hardware shop, newsagent.

“There’s a big cross section of spending that benefits the entire community.”

BVSC group manager of strategy and business services Lucas Scarpin said inclusion in the program is a valuable tourism asset that helps motorhome, campervan and caravan travellers as they journey throughout Australia.

“It’s important that visitors to our towns and villages are encouraged to stop and seek out local experiences,” Mr Scarpin said.

“The recreational vehicle traveller market is a growing source of revenue for the Bega Valley shire and programs such as this one provide a town or village with an additional promotional stream.”

Mr Scarpin said the application to join the Recreational Vehicle Friendly Town program comes from a request put forward by the Cobargo Hotel and the Bega Showground.

 “Cobargo and Bega meet the essential criteria outlined under the RVFT program and a successful application will result in the consideration of membership signage in both locations,” he said.

Charlie Bell, chairman of the Bega Showground Trust, confirmed it had lodged its DA.

“We’re hoping to offer 14 sites, and we already have a dump point, water and amenities available,” Mr Bell said. 

“Like many other showgrounds around Australia, we’re hoping to attract off-street camping suitable for a whole range of RVs.”

The showground already has approval to offer camping in association with showground events such as a showjumping carnival, and have therefore tested the site. 

“We had 70 to 100 campers here over the showjumping cup at New Year’s, so we know we can cater to that number. 

“We’ve been doing this for over 100 years.”

Mr Bell said the showground’s application to be part of the RVFT program has the support of the Bega Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Bell doesn’t believe it will compete against the interests of traditional caravan parks. 

However, this is hotly contested by John Carlon, owner of the Bega Caravan Park, who claims unapproved camping offered by the showground over last December and January’s summer period had a measurable, and critical, impact on his business.

 “Even people who had pre-booked with me called up and cancelled, and went to the showground instead because the showground had undercut my prices,” Mr Carlon said. 

“It’s the first time in 12 years of running the park that I haven’t been at full capacity over that period.”

Mr Carlon has invested $200,000 in upgrades to the caravan park during his tenure, and said if he’d known about the RVTF ambitions for the town, he would never have made those investments - and may not have purchased the park in the first place. 

“There is only limited business in Bega as a drive-through spot,” he said. 

“Especially in the off-season, I rely on my overnighters. 

“If I lose even half of those to the showground, it would be critical for me.”

Mr Carlon only heard about the RVTF applications after reading it in the newspaper. 

“It left me just two weeks to submit a formal objection, which I did.

“I’ve had no direct response from council,” Mr Carlon said. 

“It’s now a difficult situation, because the same body that regulates what I do is the same body that’s making a decision about the showground.

“So the council has a conflict of interest.”

Mr Carlon believes there should be a strategic approach to the RVTF application, which protects his business and assesses the future use of the showground in a way that creates a fair “level playing field” for all concerned. 

A major anxiety for Mr Carlon is that the showground is developed as simply a cheaper caravan park, a concern appreciated by the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia implementing the RVTF program.

 “The RVFT program is simply about providing cheaper alternative sites for off-road parking and access to a dump point,” Mr Balfour from CMCA said.  

“If the showground is offering powered sites, then that’s a deviation from the target market of the RV Friendly Towns program.” 

Mr Bell confirmed it planned to offer powered sites.

“We plan to charge $19 per night for a powered site, and $15 per night for unpowered site.” 

These prices undercut the Bega Caravan Park - which currently charges $27-$30 for an unpowered site - but as far as the CMCA is concerned, pricing adjustments and becoming more savvy about the new RVTF market is all part of the game.

“If an RV rolls into town, fully self-sufficient with solar panels, generators, inverters, batteries, and amenities, they simply don’t want to pay expensive rates at traditional caravan parks for sites with no services,” Mr Balfour said. 

“The CMCA and the RVTF program is all about offering freedom of choice, and giving self-contained RVs options. 

“And those options make them stop in a town, rather than drive through.

“Caravan parks need to work out how to capitalise on this increased traffic, rather than block it. 

“And the whole community stands to benefit.”

Mr Balfour added that $54million per annum is still spent by CMCA members in traditional caravan parks, with many drivers electing to stay in a park for security reasons even if fully self-contained. 

And it’s an investment that Mr Carlon for one wants to protect into the future.

“If a town is offering next-to-free RV sites, no-one wins,” Mr Carlon said. 

“The council is essentially subsidising people overnighting more cheaply, and that will eventually be passed on to the ratepayers. 

“The local baker doesn’t have to compete with someone giving away free bread, so why me?”

As Mr Carlon continues to fight for his voice to be heard, it seems the wheels are already in motion towards an RVFT future. 

Bega Valley Shire councillors have resolved to endorse the Bega Showground and Cobargo Hotel application for membership in the RVTF program, and have stated that other towns in the shire may also be offered opportunity to participate.