The proposal to open up the car park at the Orange railway station for campervans to stay overnight has been welcomed by visiting grey nomads and the organisation that developed the idea.
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For seasoned travellers Bruce and Elly Forsyth, the eight spaces alongside the station will be prime positions once the word gets around that they are available.
"Most caravan parks are out of town and you just go to the supermarket, get what you want, and go back to the park," Mr Forsyth said. "This way people will be able to easily go to the restaurants and other shops in the town."
With membership increasing at a rate of 800 per month, the market for the grey nomad dollar is, like the produce they are attracted to, ripe for the picking.
"This is an eight billion dollar industry," said Phil Berry manager of member benefits at the Campervan and Mobilehome Club of Australia (CMCA). "On average they spend $573 a week and it makes financial sense for the council to allocate these spaces for tourists."
The CMCA developed the idea when regional councils noticed that the owners of the self contained vehicles were asking about areas close to town.
"A few centres were looking for advice on what they could do to appeal to the grey nomads and from that we developed the RV friendly town scheme," Mr Berry said.
The Forsyth's are from New Zealand and are concentrating their 10 day tour on the central west doing a loop around Mudgee, Dubbo, Forbes, Cowra and Bathurst and Orange.
With Forbes being the closest RV friendly town, part of the challenge will be letting the grey nomads know that sites are available in Orange.
"They will need to put something on their website or at the information centre," Mr Forsyth said. "Most caravan parks in the region charge around $20 a night for a campervan and some are up to $30. These site will be very attractive."
