Gap in glamping guidelines causes confusion for Bright business

A Bright caravan park will now be forced to dismantle its range of on-site safari or 'glamping' tents, which have stood idle for four years due to regulatory changes. Bright NRMA Park and Resort's four canvas tents worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were first installed in 2022 after initial approval from the Alpine Shire Council. However, a subsequent reconsideration of the dwellings' classification from 'tents' to 'buildings' saw the glamping tents fall short on safety compliance and they have been vacant ever since. Caravan and Residential Parks Victoria (CRP Vic) is calling on the Victorian government to publish glamping planning guidance immediately after an almost three-year wait, which will give clear regulatory recognition of glamping tents within registered tourist parks. "What that statewide glamping guidance [will do] is provide certainty to local council, to our manufacturers, to the industry, to our park operators on glamping products within regulated tourist parks," CRP Vic's general manager for Tourist Parks, Gary Anderton told the Alpine Observer/Myrtleford Times. Mr Anderton said the removal of the glamping tents in Bright will have a detrimental effect on Victoria's high country regional tourism and tourist parks. "Across the state, we have seen glamping tents are a high-valued product for Victorians and Australians to stay in regional Victoria," he said. "They contribute to the regional economies...wineries, pubs, bakeries - they all benefit from Victoria's regulated tourist parks and this will have a detrimental effect on Bright's regional economy. "In addition, after the year Bright and Porepunkah have had, this is the last thing that is needed in those communities. "I would say more tourism and more dollars for the regional economy would be required, not less." Mr Anderton said CRP Vic continues to work with the Victorian government on the guidelines for such tents. "Over the past three years, we've worked with the Victorian government to develop these overdue glamping guidelines," he said. "They were signed off by a range of industry manufacturers, the CFA, the Victorian government legal team: all it required was a signature from the Minister for Housing and Building. "Hypothetically that could occur today and these glamping tents could stay. "The deadline was yesterday (last Thursday), so the process to begin to remove those safari or glamping tents from Bright and relocate and reinstall them interstate will now begin. "This is a product manufactured in Victoria for Victorian parks and because of the council, they'll now be removed from Bright and relocated interstate [which will have] an impact on Victoria's high country tourism." Alpine Shire Council was contacted but did not wish to comment.

Gap in glamping guidelines causes confusion for Bright business

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