Private campground owners and operators have reason to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend, as the latest Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA) Monthly Research Report – April 2023 Edition indicates that camping sentiment is at an all-time high.
According to the report, a whopping 22.6 million households have expressed interest in spending the May holiday weekend in the great outdoors. This represents a significant increase from the previous year and marks the highest number of camping households since October 2022.
The report highlights the fact that camping continues to be a popular choice for leisure travelers, with almost a quarter of campers having already booked all of their camping trips for the year.
This percentage has doubled month-over-month, demonstrating the growing popularity of camping during the planning phases of the spring season.
Additionally, another 20% of camping households have already booked at least one trip, with more planned. This trend is in stark contrast to non-camping travelers, of whom only 9% have booked their trips for the year.
Whitney Scott, senior vice president of strategy at KOA, explains that “Campers are an especially fervent group of travel enthusiasts, and we can especially see this in how they plan.”
“This group looks forward to time spent in nature and plans accordingly to secure their favorite campgrounds and campsites.”
The KOA report also sheds light on the impressive growth of off-season camping, with an additional 1.3 million households embracing winter camping. This brings the end-of-season total to over 8.2 million households who camped during the colder months.
What’s more, the total number of off-season campers is estimated to have reached 6.15 million, indicating a significant rise in the popularity of camping throughout the year.
Scott explains that “Our research shows that campers look forward to new experiences and adventures.”
“The changing seasons offer new ways to experience nature that directly affect the growth of winter and off-season camping. We expect to see even more growth during this half of the year in the future,” she added.
The April report also reveals that March camping saw an increase of over 3 million households year-over-year, continuing the multi-month growth trend in the camping market that is expected to continue.
Private campground owners and operators stand to benefit from the rising camping trend.
As demand for camping sites continues to grow, it presents an opportunity for these businesses to expand their services and amenities to accommodate the influx of campers.
The report also suggests that private campground owners and operators can expect to see continued growth throughout the year, particularly during the winter and off-season months.