New chief for NSW caravan body

One of Australia's most experienced and successful tourism professionals will take up the reins at the Caravan and Camping Industry Association (CCIA) NSW in mid-July.

CCIA President, Theo Whitmont said the appointment of Lyndel Gray, the current chief of Tourism NSW, was due to her outstanding industry experience, and proven track record of building industry capacity.

“Her past work is widely recognised for having delivered real value to the entire tourism industry and we are very pleased to have her join us to build on the success of the CCIA," he said.

As the head of Tourism NSW since 2008, Ms Gray helped consolidate the State’s position as Australia’s top tourism destination, delivering significant growth in market share for holiday visitor numbers, nights and expenditure in both domestic and international markets.

The caravan and camping sector currently delivers over 25 per cent of the holiday nights in regional NSW.

Ms Gray said she was,  "delighted to be joining the CCIA and to be leading the organisation in building the caravan and camping industry of the future”.

“I look forward to engaging my wide industry networks in programs to achieve positive outcomes for the sector at such an exciting time of growth," she said.“We are also extremely well placed to benefit from the increasing leisure time of the fast growing baby boomer market.”

Prior to joining Tourism NSW, Ms Gray was Executive General Manager Western Hemisphere for Tourism Australia, and also ran Tourism Australia’s operations in North America for seven years.