The number of campsites available at the Mount Gambier Showgrounds will triple by the end of March, with major upgrades nearing completion.

Mount Gambier Agricultural and Horticultural Society president Brian Kerr said the campsite upgrades included the installation of a grey water system for campers and fire hose reels were being installed to ensure the safety of campers.

“Our grey water is already installed, that has all been completed, we are just in the throes now of putting our new water main in,” Mr Kerr said.

Mr Kerr said the number of campsites at the showgrounds would increase from nine to 30 once the upgrades were completed and passed by the Mount Gambier City Council.

“It will bring more tourists to Mount Gambier and to the surrounding regions, we initially had nine (sites) and we had a lot more people than that wanting to stop there,” he said.

“So we approached the Mount Gambier City Council to upgrade to 22 sites to cater for that growing demand of caravans and campers and the like and we have got unprecedented demand.

“Particularly since COVID restrictions have lifted, there is quite a big demand for those camping areas, I think people feel a little bit more comfortable camping more so than what they did in previous years stopping at a motel or a hotel.

“Here they are sort of self-contained in their own tents or their own caravans and I think people feel a little bit more comfortable in that climate at the minute.

“I guess also at the present time with floods further along the rivers, people have not been able to get away to riverside campsites and things like that which they would normally go to, so the whole lower South East region is just inundated with travellers at the minute because we are high and dry.”

Mr Kerr said sites would cost approximately $35 a night with both powered and unpowered sites available.

Mr Kerr said SA Water had been of major assistance throughout the process, offering help and guidance.

Mr Kerr said he was excited for the upgrades to be completed and said it would be very rewarding.

“It is going to be great for the Mount Gambier Show Society, great for the city of Mount Gambier and great for the region,” he said.

“The Show Society runs on a limited budget, we are not-for-profit and we generate enough money each year to pay our secretary and our groundsmen and maintenance and upkeep around the grounds.

“We pay insurance and things like that, it does not leave a lot in the kitty to host the show each year.

“We are hoping that this will see us in good stead to be able to maintain that great facility, we have got a 70-acre site out there that we have to maintain and there are a lot of organisations who use that site.

“It is good to just have a great facility the whole community can use.”