Travellers who frequent holiday parks more likely to find lasting love and friendships

New independent research conducted for BIG4 Holiday Parks has found people who stay at holiday parks are more likely to find lasting love and friendships than other travellers.

The study of more than 2,000 people found that more than half of Aussies (59%) said they’d stayed in a holiday park during the past five years, with 52% choose family or their partner as their favourite travel companions.

Interestingly, the research showed that people who’ve stayed at a holiday park in the past five years were 50% more likely to uncover romance while on their holiday break. Even more interestingly, those relationships were said to be 50% more likely to last.

The nature of holiday parks means that there are more sense of community, camaraderie and people with shared interests compared to staying at a resort or holiday rental. When asked if they would start chatting to other guests staying in the holiday park, 70% surveyed said they would.

Northern Territorians are the friendliest on holiday with 100% stating that they would say ‘hi’ when passing other guests. The vast majority (90%) of the wider population saying they would, too.

Being friendly is paying dividends too for many, with 56% saying they’ve made new friends while on holiday, with more than half of those friendships (57%) surviving the post-holiday blues.

Generosity to one’s neighbour is also strong across all ages with more than 70% in every age bracket agreeing there is more willingness to help others when on holidays. Nine in 10 people have had someone lend them a hand when they’ve needed it, and 79% believe it would be un-Australian not to help someone.

Men are happiest helping others to set up camp (37%) while women are more inclined (42%) to assist with navigating the park.

Chief executive officer at BIG4 Holiday Parks Sean Jenner said it was no surprise that holidaymakers were continuing to flock to Holiday Parks.

“There is a real community vibe at BIG4 Holiday Parks, which brings people together,” Mr Jenner said.

“Over the years, our holidaymakers have essentially created their own culture. They go out of their way to say ‘hi’ and make new friends with fellow campers. They collaborate in the camp kitchens, and while we have organised activities at many of our parks, they also enjoy gathering for their own cricket matches or to have a kick of the footy.

“The research reflects the data we have on group sizes. We’re seeing significant growth in group bookings, which have increased by 39% since 2022. The number of couples booking sites has also grown by 35%. This shows we have enough going on at the parks to keep families busy, without destroying the serenity for the couples."

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