Tasman Holiday Parks, the largest trans-Tasman holiday park group is poised for expansion

Tasman Holiday Parks has announced the creation of the leading trans-Tasman holiday park group after bedding down a series of acquisitions and developments totalling more than $250 million over the past 18 months.

Tasman Holiday Parks, backed by Tasman Capital, a leading private equity group, is setting its sights on becoming a market leader in the sector. The fast-moving group has quickly capitalised on emerging opportunities in the holiday park sector in Australia and New Zealand as travel restrictions begin to ease in a post-COVID environment.

The emerging holiday park powerhouse, led by industry veteran Nikki Milne and a management team with more than 75 years’ combined sector experience, currently has a portfolio of 21 holiday parks following an acquisition spree that has consolidated quality assets in iconic destinations under the new Tasman Holiday Parks banner.

A recent $300 million capital raise has armed Tasman Holiday Parks with a warchest that will allow the group to double its asset base over the next two years. The pace of acquisitions since early 2020 has positioned Tasman Holiday Parks as the fastest growing owner, developer, and operator of holiday parks in Australia and New Zealand.

Among the latest acquisitions, is Christchurch TOP10 Holiday Park. The significant 277-site asset brings the total number of sites owned by Tasman Holiday Parks to more than 3,000, comprising cabins, caravan & camping sites, and short-term holiday sites.

The group now owns and operates 16 holiday parks in Australia and five in New Zealand and employs more than 300 staff across its operations. Tasman Holiday Parks CEO Nikki Milne says the group has targeted the launch of the consolidated consumer platform, tasmanholidayparks.com to catch the new wave of growth and increasing demand across domestic drive markets as borders reopen.

“We believe a desire for a more timeless touring and travel experience was returning prior to COVID, and the pandemic has only just accelerated this,” said Ms Milne.

“The growing popularity of an iconic cabin, caravan and camping holiday is an emerging mega-trend, and we are positioning ourselves to capture this return to authentic travel experiences with quality assets in iconic destinations across Australia and New Zealand.”

Tasman Holiday Parks is expecting a surge of travel demand as borders reopen across Australia and New Zealand throughout 2022 and beyond.

“While we are anticipating a strengthening of our domestic travel markets, we believe this will translate to a robust trans-Tasman demand for all of our holiday parks as holiday makers make a comeback,” said Ms Milne.

Tasman Holiday Parks has focused its acquisition strategy on quality independent holiday parks, with strong development upside in strategic locations.

Tasman Holiday Parks has recently undertaken a capital raise to restock its war chest with over $300 million available to grow its network and deliver a multi-milliondollar redevelopment program of its iconic holiday assets across Australia & New Zealand.

“We believe in delivering wonderful guest experiences and will focus investment to ensure we have the highest quality parks to delight our customers now and into the future,” said Ms Milne.

Tasman Holiday Parks currently has a deep pipeline of projects and acquisitions to double the size of the business over the coming 24 months. The group’s current development pipeline has the capacity to add an additional 500 sites to its existing portfolio.

Stuart Lamont CEO of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia said the investment into the sector was timely and acknowledged the commitment to quality from Tasman Holiday Parks.

“Holiday Parks are the backbone of the great Australian touring holiday and essential to the social fabric of our communities. Quality, well-funded corporate groups with a strong commitment to re-investment are essential to the delivery of a leading guestexperience,” said Mr Lamont.

“We are excited to support and welcome Tasman Holiday Parks as an active member of the caravanning and camping market and an emerging leader in the trans-Tasman market.”

Tasman Holiday Parks are the fastest-growing owner, developer & operator of holiday parks across Australia and New Zealand. With more than 3,000 sites under management across 21 iconic locations, Tasman Holiday Parks welcomes more than 250,000 guests each year.