Kampgrounds of America (KOA) highlighted the role of outdoor recreation in public health discussions during the inaugural National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation held in Washington, D.C.
The event, hosted by the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), brought together more than 130 executives, policymakers and industry leaders to examine how outdoor access can help address mental health challenges, chronic disease and overall wellbeing.
KOA President and CEO Toby O’Rourke participated in the panel discussion “The Health x Recreation Challenge and Opportunity,” where she discussed research from the company’s 2026 Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report.
The report tracks consumer travel behavior and outdoor engagement trends.
According to KOA, the forum focused on collaboration between healthcare, government and outdoor recreation stakeholders, with discussions centered on evidence-based research and scalable approaches tied to preventive health efforts.
During her presentation, O’Rourke said camping and outdoor recreation are increasingly connected to both physical and mental wellbeing.
“Camping sits at the intersection of two critical and converging priorities, health and human connection,” O’Rourke said in a press release.
“Our research not only tracks how people travel, but why they seek the outdoors in the first place. The findings are clear, access to nature is not a luxury, it is foundational to wellbeing. Outdoor hospitality has a meaningful role to play in delivering that access at scale,” O’Rourke added.
Data from KOA’s 2026 Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report showed that 77% of campers said being in nature improves their wellbeing without structured programming, while 61% identified slowing down and being present as their primary travel goal.
The report also found that nearly half of travelers book outdoor trips specifically to recharge or support mental health. Additionally, 81% reported improvements in sleep quality and stress recovery while spending time outdoors.
Family travel priorities also factored into the findings. More than half of parents surveyed said “unstructured play” for children is an important consideration when planning vacations.
KOA participated in the forum as both a sponsor and contributor, using the event to present findings from its annual outdoor hospitality research.