He is the man who wants to make camping great again.
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And it looks like his efforts are paying off, as South Coast Holiday Parks Bermagui has received a 2016 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the consistent outstanding reviews made by guests on the website.
“It’s basically the Logies of caravan parks because of the public voting,” park manager Wayland Mason said of the TripAdvisor award.
“We are really happy when guests tell us they had a great time when staying with us, because we work so hard to provide memorable experiences.
“I want to make camping great again.”
Mr Mason has managed the caravan park with his partner Karen Mason for the last four years.
During this time they have increased their turnover by 70 per cent and had the biggest February to March season ever this year – even busier than January.
Mr Mason said this increase during the shoulder season showed grey nomads were deciding to hit the road outside of school holidays.
The park had a lot more international tourists this year as well as having a huge increase in first-time visitors.
Also, it is pet-friendly because the managers noticed an increase in people who want to travel with their dogs.
The Masons said one of the reasons for their success at the park was the personal way they treat their clientele – they know the park-goers names and where they are from.
“I call them ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ if I don’t know their names, as they’re often grey nomads and its a personal thing and they quite like it!” Mr Mason said.
“Also, we have the best-looking staff on the South Coast.”
He started working in caravan parks 16 years ago.
“We had all these different experiences and it was the logical move to condense them all together to give people a good experience at a caravan park,” he said.
The award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given to establishments that consistently receive great reviews on TripAdvisor.
The caravan park is also currently ranked second in popularity for its geographical location on TripAdvisor and is part of the NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust.