Australia’s largest regional accommodation network, the G’day Group, has acquired the Ayr Silver Link Caravan Park and the Mackay Marine Tourist Park, positioning for continued post-COVID growth.

The Group’s near $20 million investment in the region is intended to improve the Queensland coastal touring route, adding a new stopover within the G’day Parks network between Rockhampton and Townsville.

The investment will provide a springboard to the high value tourism areas of Airlie and Townsville, as well as counter-seasonal income from international fruit and vegetable pickers in Ayr and potential for additional construction work stay in Mackay.

G’day Group CEO Grant Wilckens said the acquisitions reflected confidence in regional tourism which has spiked strongly after the pandemic, with tourists swapping international travel for domestic adventures.

“Tourism has endured a tough 2020 but it is exciting to see the opportunities that are opening up as people are keen to get out and explore their own country.”

“COVID has really highlighted the value of nature-based holidaying and Mackay, which with Australia’s longest stretch of sub-tropical rainforest has the potential to be an integral part of the Pacific drive route,” said Grant.

The company intends to invest in the Mackay Marine Tourist Park to increase shoulder demand from families with kids, leveraging its resort-style facilities including resort pool, splash zone, jumping pillow, playground and minigolf.

There are also plans in the pipeline to add tourist cabins in the future, boosting the number of cabins to over 60. The G’DAY Group’s strong business development team is expected to add value to the Ayr Silver Link Caravan Village by contracting workforce accommodation directly with farms and labour hire firms.

Post-COVID acquisitions have helped the G’day Group to reach its goal of $1 billion in property assets by 2020, and to diversify the portfolio, adding high-end leisure properties such as the iconic El Questro in Western Australia, Kings Canyon Resort in Northern Territory and the Glenview Golf Course on the Sunshine Coast.

The group now has 80 owned and operated properties in the Discovery Parks network and provides business services including the G’day Rewards loyalty program and digital marketing to the licensed park network of 290+ G’day Parks.

“Not only has our business rebounded strongly from the lockdowns with December-January sales up 150 per cent year-on-year, we’ve invested more than $100 million in new parks and we have another $100 million in developments to kick off this year to improve the visitor experience in regions,” said Grant.

“We are changing the way people think about caravan parks with the diversity of our portfolio and investment in the customer experience with the addition of golfing, eco-tourism and food and beverage services,” said Grant.
The Group and its 95 per cent shareholder, Queensland-based Sunsuper, have a string of development and hospitality projects in the pipeline, building on the success of the Discovery - Rottnest Island resort and restaurant which opened to international acclaim and a WA Tourism Award in 2019.

For more information, contact: Myles Wallace, G’day Group Communications Manager, 0432 866 094 or email mwallace@gdaygroup.com.au

About G’day Group

Founded by Grant Wilckens in 2004 with three caravan parks in WA, G’day Group is now Australia’s leader in regional accommodation experiences with more than 300 properties across the country.

G’day Group is home to Discovery Parks, a network of more than 85 owned and operated properties, including iconic regional resorts at Kings Canyon, Rottnest Island and the world famous El Questro. The company also owns G’day Parks, a network of 220+ independently owned licensed parks and more than 200,000 G’day Rewards members, and Australia’s number one regional travel community, Wikicamps.

G’day Group reached $1 billion status in 2020 and has ambitions to double in size in the next five years. The company is majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust and founder and CEO Grant Wilckens is the Chair of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia and a Board Director of the South Australian Tourism Commission.