As vaccination numbers continue to rise and COVID-19 infection rates decrease, more Americans are traveling this summer. In fact, new data from Kampgrounds of America’s (KOA) Monthly Research Report shows people are especially eager to go camping this summer, with nearly 20 million households planning to camp during the July Fourth weekend.
The pandemic created a surge of new and returning campers as people turned to the outdoors for stress-relieving benefits and low-risk activities. According to KOA’s June edition of the Monthly Research Report, 74 percent of campers say camping has reduced their stress during the pandemic and 83 percent note camping had a positive impact on their mental status.
Additional key findings from the June edition include:
- The top 10 states for July Fourth camping include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
- Households with children are much more likely to say that they will work during their camping trips (40 percent) versus those without children (22 percent).
- Camping sill is considered the safest form of travel amid the pandemic, with 6 in 10 campers in June saying it’s safer than other forms of travel.
- Millennials continue to lead the camping boom, making up the largest proportion of campers in May 2021 at 37 percent.
- Campers are expected to travel close to home this summer, with many saying they are unlikely to venture outside of their region.
