The Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) have officially declared Canowindra as an RV friendly town. CMCA hopes to encourage the expansion of tourism related infrastructure and services along with boosting the economy of towns such as Canowindra that provide RV tourist specific amenities. In order to qualify for the program, towns must successfully meet the needs of RV travellers and satisfy stringent criteria including: access to a general shopping area, provision of appropriate low cost overnight parking and access to potable water and a free dump point.
CMCA also considers the general attitude of the local council and community, so as to truly identify the friendliest areas in Australia. Therefore, travellers can enter Canowindra with the knowledge that they will be welcomed and provided for and in return CMCA will support and promote the town. CMCA Director, National Consumer Representative & Government Liaison, Ken Kipping says the results of the program continue to be promising. “It is great to see an increasing number of towns qualifying as RV Friendly,” he says; “CMCA strives to promote a number of programs that will facilitate improved relationships between RV travellers, government and the community.
This way we are ensuring that everyone’s interests are considered and our programs are mutually beneficial for all parties involved.” The advantage of Canowindra becoming
an RV Friendly Town is that the business communities will benefit from the dollars spent by these mobile travellers. The value of road based tourism in Australia is estimated to be $7 billion per annum. The designation of RV Friendly Towns continues to encourage all RV travellers to stop, shop and enjoy local produce, people and products. It is now up to us to make tourists welcome so if you spot one around town, say hello and tell them about some of the great things to see and do in our area. The best form of advertising is word of mouth and as they tell their fellow travellers about the joys of staying in the region, numbers of people visiting our town should increase and get to know all the wonderful things Canowindra has to offer.