RAC holiday parks among popular WA getaways booked out months in advance by eager West Aussies

West Aussies are planning road trips in droves, with caravan parks and tourist resorts booked out Statewide amid an advanced bookings boom extending to Easter 2021.

Easter is booked out at several WA hotspots, while September is also shaping to be a busy month despite the Job Seeker and Job Keeper payments drying up.

From Esperance to Cable Beach, RAC holiday parks have seen a 40 per cent increase in bookings from July to September compared to last year. The company’s Monkey Mia, Karri Valley and Ningaloo Reef Resorts have had the biggest spike in bookings.

Business is booming for Experience Lancelin Caravan Park and flowing onto local operators, according to manager Kel Shinnick.

The Caravan park is fully booked for the September long weekend, with 271 guests expected to flock to their site about an hour and a half north of Perth.

Devastated their plans had to be cancelled last minute, the park’s loyal Easter holiday visitors have already secured their spots for 2021 with the park already at 70 per cent capacity. Ms Shinnick said it was unusually earlier this year.

Tourism Council of WA Evan Hall said while bookings for the upcoming school holidays were looking good State-wide, but post-July his members had painted a bleak picture.

“It’s terrible after July. It’s just woeful after the school holidays,” he said. Mr Hall said while self-contained accommodation was filling up, experience- based services were desperate for forward bookings.

Busselton mayor Grant Henley said visitors to the South West were opting for self-contained accommodation, bringing their own supplies rather than buying from local businesses.

“International and interstate visitors always book ahead because they have to. West Australians leave it to the last minute... and it’s been getting shorter in recent years,” he said.

“For Easter next year, we’re pretty close to fully booked because people swapped their bookings over,” Ms Shinnick said.

“That’s almost 12 months' time — that’s pretty cool. Christmas is pretty booked too.”

The 2021 Anzac weekend is also booking out quickly, with 60 per cent of the park already full.

“Lancelin has been really busy. It’s a good vibe in town. All businesses are grateful.”

Across the stricter lockdowns, the park hosted a number of long-term guests a majority of which were international backpackers.

“We were considered an essential service so we were open the whole time,” she said.

In the South West’s Nannup Caravan Park co-owner Julie May says bookings for cabins are almost fully booked for their self-contained cabins but said bookings for caravan sites were down.

“September we’re about 70 per cent. September is looking like it’s going to be a good month,” Ms May said.

“Easter [2021] is going to be huge because everyone missed out this year. It’s starting to book up already.”

RAC executive general manager for advocacy and members Patrick Walker said 40 per cent across their nine sites was a “substantial increase”, with WA’s borders remaining closed to both interstate and international visitors.

Ahead of the surge in road trips RAC has created a new safety initiative, providing free vehicle checks, one and a half hour caravan safety training sessions at Perth’s Driver Risk Management centre and launching a competition for 100 lucky winners for a three-night stay at an RAC Parks and Resort property.

The company has also teamed up with regional Puma, Better Choice and Gull service stations to allow drivers to get a free coffee to help fight fatigue.

“Regional WA is home to some of the most beautiful places in the country but it’s also consistently overrepresented by road fatalities, making our regional roads some of the most dangerous," Mr Walker said.

“Many motorists are likely to be travelling on unfamiliar roads, for longer distances and towing a caravan for the first time. Plan ahead and ensure you and your vehicle are well prepared for the journey.”

The State’s national parks have experienced a “significant response” to each phase of eased travel restriction in WA’s post-pandemic recovery, according to a Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman.

“[We had] very high demand for the Perth and Peel regions for Phase 1, for the South West for Phase 2 and huge demand for the North West for Phase 3,” she said.

“1,300 bookings were completed in the first five hours after the advance booking restrictions were lifted following the announcement of Phase 3, and the average since has been over 400 bookings per day. The 2019 average was around 200 bookings per day.”

Across the July school holidays the Ningaloo Coast has proved popular for campers, with “very few spots left” despite increased capacity from previous years with the addition of the former Ningaloo and Warroora station campgrounds.

Popular spots such as Esperance’s icon Lucky Bay, Martins Tank near Preston Beach's Yalgorup National Park and other North West campgrounds still have campsites available for the school holidays.

Destinations closer to the metro, such as Lane Poole Reserve and Yanchep National Park, are nearing capacity which is generally the case on weekends year round.