Australia's largest regional accommodation provider has taken ownership of Narooma's Beachfront Camping and Cottages.
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G'day Group, which operates about 300 properties across Australia, announced its purchase of the caravan park south of Narooma on Friday, September 16.
The property had been managed as Beachfront Camping and Cottages Narooma for the past two years.
Prior to that it was owned and run as Island View Beach Resort.
G'Day Group's purchase is the latest in a string of recent high-profile acquisitions of tourism-related property in Narooma.
Gerry Harvey bought Black Bream Point Holiday Cabins in February 2022 and more recently Justin Hemmes' Merivale hospitality group purchased Lynch's Hotel.
That took his portfolio of Narooma hospitality venues to four. He also owns The Whale Inn and eateries The Inlet and Quarterdeck.
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G'day Group has long been interested in the Narooma property, a company spokesman said.
"We have looked at it for a number of years and have managed to retain a relationship with the vendor so we could strike a deal when the time was right," he said.
It was an off-market transaction, without any public advertising.
G'day Group already has four properties on the NSW South Coast including Discovery Parks-branded sites in Gerroa, Burrill Lake near Ulladulla, Pambula and Eden.
The Narooma property will be rebranded as Discovery Parks - Narooma.
The group spokesman said all existing staff had been offered ongoing employment.
Local economy to benefit
G'day Group chief investment officer Amanda Baldwin said the company was attracted by the property's growth potential and beachfront location in a town that is experiencing a mini-investment boom.
"Narooma is already a popular summer holiday spot, particularly for Canberrans and Sydneysiders escaping the city," Ms Baldwin said.
"However, the region still has a lot of untapped potential to attract visitors outside of peak season and from across the border in regional Victoria."
Gourmet Coast Trail is on a similar mission with its marketing strategy of using food as a driver of year-round tourism to draw visitors from Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
G'day Group's first priorities include improving the park's digital presence and increasing marketing spend to attract more visitors throughout the year.
The group said it would initially invest around $5million on "essential maintenance and infrastructure at the park" including refreshing and bringing more than 40 inactive sites back online.
These works are expected to take 6-12 months.
The company spokesman said they always used local tradespeople where possible.
"Longer term, the park requires maintenance work and infrastructure before we can realise its full potential, while there's an opportunity to put in more tourist sites and family friendly facilities to cater to peak demand.," Ms Baldwin said.
"We intend to leverage our marketing expertise and strong digital presence to promote the region and the accommodation," the company spokesman said.
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