Daniel Sahlberg said the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games provided a "major opportunity for our industry" ©Getty Images

Leading industry representative Daniel Sahlberg has claimed caravans could be used to provide additional accommodation capacity when the Australian region holds the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

Victoria is set to stage what has been billed as the first regional Commonwealth Games in 2026, although this is expected to bring logistical challenges for organisers to resolve, including limited accommodation in various host cities.

Sahlberg, who is the chief executive of Caravan Industry Victoria which represents brands, suppliers, retailers and service providers, suggested that caravans could help to increase accommodation options across the state during the Games.

"At Caravan Industry Victoria we run the big caravan shows around town, and we're running our big one at the show grounds in a couple of weeks - the Victorian Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow," Sahlberg told Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio Melbourne.

"We've run two regional shows, one in Bendigo in November and one in Wodonga in August, and we've seen when we run those shows how tight it is for accommodation, but also working with venue operators and the local councils, we know that they struggle and are going to struggle with the Commonwealth Games being in the region.

"We see a major opportunity for our industry to play a key support, which could also bring in local communities in areas like schools and the like where they could turn into camp grounds for the Commonwealth Games and we could really have a big festival of events going through those regional towns, which is something that I've been talking with both host councils late last year."

Geelong is among the host cities under organisers' regional model for Victoria 2026 ©Getty Images
Geelong is among the host cities under organisers' regional model for Victoria 2026 ©Getty Images

Victoria is estimated to be responsible for 90 per cent of all caravan manufacturing in Australia.

New properties are planned across Victoria to help accommodate athletes and officials, including four Athletes' Village sites at Ballarat Saleyards, the Waurn Ponds station precinct on the outskirts of Geelong, Flora Hill in Bendigo and English St Morwell.

Multiple cities including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland are set to host events, but spectators have been warned against trying to attend too many competitions in a single day because of the distance between venues.

Dates of March 17 to 29 have already been scheduled for Victoria 2026.