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activities, and the last few years have brought
about newer, less-rugged forms of camping and
new attitudes about what it means to camp. That
represents a captive audience of new potential
participants. In other words, there are lots of
opportunities for those looking in the right places.
So how big are the opportunities?
According
to the latest figures from The NPD Group, camping
sales through outdoor retail channels jumped 12
percent in 2015, and that’s coming off 7 percent
growth in 2014. Camping category manufacturer
sales increased 4.3 percent in 2015, according
to counts by the Sports and Fitness Industry
Association, which is more than double the increases
seen in SFIA’s overall sporting goods numbers.
Camping manufacturer sales are up 32.7 percent
since 2010. Those are pretty respectable rates for
any market but especially for what’s become a large
and mature one. NPD’s growth rates, after all, are
coming off more than $1 billion in sales.
On the demand side, our National Parks
hosted more overnight tent and backcountry
campers in 2015 than they have since the 1990s.
The increase in total camping visits in 2015
(concessionaire, RV, tent, backcountry) doubled
recent annual growth fluctuations, reaching
more than 9.3 million total camping visits. And
that came after pretty solid growth in 2014. On
public lands managed by the Bureau of Land
Management, camping accounts for an additional
25 million or so visitor days annually, representing
more than a third of BLM total visitor days.
So what’s behind the recent upswing?
For
2015, in particular, warmer winter temperatures
had lots to do with the increases, say NPD
researchers. Quite simply, spring-like low
temperatures in November and December
provided interested parties with more opportunities
to pack up and sleep outside, as well as more time
to purchase or replace gear. And many folks did
just that. Although colder months aren’t typically
associated with camping gear sell-through,
camping sales through outdoor channels jumped
13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 over the
same period prior year.
Remaining at a more macro level, the plodding
economic recovery also plays to camping’s
advantage. Real or not, camping has always
been seen as “cheaper than a hotel” for multi-day
outings and out-of-town adventures. But camping’s
use as affordable traveling accommodations has
never been more widespread.
National Park Service Camping Visits by Year
Year
Recreation
Visits
Tent Camping
Visits
Total Camping
Visits
2000 285,891,275 3,395,816
8,832,151
2001 279,873,926 3,326,852
8,773,196
2002 277,299,880 3,357,513
8,740,763
2003 266,230,290 3,303,365
8,546,852
2004 276,908,337 3,128,014
8,141,127
2005 273,488,751 2,974,269
7,998,069
2006 272,623,980 2,882,297
7,829,493
2007 275,581,547 3,003,270
8,114,397
2008 274,852,949 2,956,761
7,992,069
2009 285,579,941 3,184,255
8,504,934
2010 281,303,769 3,277,151
8,575,006
2011 278,939,216 3,229,241
8,309,940
2012 282,765,682 3,203,413
8,397,553
2013 273,630,895 2,993,845
7,914,373
2014 292,800,082 3,246,320
8,451,990
2015 307,247,252 3,680,809
9,382,288
Source: NPS
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