Summer 2022 is shaping up to be a banner season for campgrounds in Indiana and across the country.
That prediction is one of the primary findings of the recently released 2022 North American Camping Report.
Sponsored by Kampgrounds of America Inc., the world’s largest system of privately held campgrounds with more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, the annual research initiative details the camping habits and preferences of North America’s campers, with this year’s report taking a close look at how camping is currently leading the recovery of the nation’s travel sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world, and the travel industry, to a stop in 2020. Flights were canceled, cruise ships remained at port and leisure travelers shifted plans,” the report notes of the early days of the pandemic. “Still wanting to plan vacations, the hunt for alternatives began. Camping, with its open spaces and natural social distancing, provided the perfect way to venture out.
“Already experiencing annual growth, camping saw an incredible rise in popularity among leisure travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report adds. “Campgrounds achieved record-setting occupancy, glamping boomed and RVs became more popular than ever. Camping was big.”
And according to the report, those trends continued throughout the 2021 camping season, with even more leisure travelers taking to the outdoors.
As an example, the report found that in total, nearly 57 million households took at least one camping trip in 2021, compared to 48.2 million in 2O2O and 42 million in 2O19, which was pre-pandemic.
Click here to see the full report from John Kline in The Goshen News.