Ingenia Holidays South West Rocks Park Manager Alison Evans said she had noticed a substantial demand for pet-friendly accommodation in the area, which meant that it was vital to introduce changes to the popular holiday destination.

"There's a real gap in the South West Rocks market for pet-friendly accommodation, with none of the local hotels and motels allowing animals, but so many people travelling with their pets," Ms Evans said.

"We've made all of our camp and caravan sites pet friendly, introduced one pet-friendly cabin with an enclosed balcony and non-carpeted floors, and we're about to launch two new pet-friendly cabins in the coming weeks."

With Australians having some of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world - almost two thirds of people owning a pet - it's no surprise businesses are seeing this trend.

"Since making these changes we've seen a significant uptake in people staying with their pets, especially among 'grey nomads', with at least 17 per cent of these guests bringing a pet with them on their travels to South West Rocks," Ms Evans said.

"As a popular 'stopover' destination on the east coast, catering to holiday makers who travel with pets has opened up a whole new segment of the market.

"We've fully embraced the pet-friendly trend, even bringing my own dog Pretzel the dachshund-foxie cross into the office as the unofficial park mascot - welcoming guests when they arrive at reception and bidding them farewell when they leave.

"As many of our staff here are animal lovers, we get great satisfaction seeing people coming and enjoying holidays with their pets, and we think that the animals enjoy the holiday just as much as the people."

To secure your holiday at an Ingenia Holiday park around Australia, visit www.ingeniaholidays.com.au or phone their bookings team on 1300 790 758.

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