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which hosted 331 million visitors in
2016, smashing the record 307 million
visits in 2015. Among those visitors,
NPS hosted about 3.86 million “tent
campers” in 2016, the most since
1995, and 2.15 million “backcountry
campers,” the most since 1997.
Possibly even better news, while
overall camping incidences continue
to show incremental growth, the real
growth in camping is at the individual
level where campers are migrating
from annual camping trips toward
taking multiple trips each year, says
the KOA survey of nearly 3,000 U.S.
and Canadian residents. During the
past three years, the number of re-
spondents who take three or more
trips each year has grown 36 percent,
while the number of campers tak-
ing just one trip a year has dropped
10 percent. Among the new camper
households, about a third would like to
increase their camping trips in 2017.
“These results indicate that once
a person experiences camping, it’s
highly likely that they will camp more
in order to gain the personal and fa-
milial benefits associated with camp-
ing,” said KOA researchers.
Results also suggest that as
older consumers age out or partici-
pate less and new participants move
in and participate more, the profile of
the typical North American camper is
skewing younger and younger. The
lion’s share of U.S. campers is now
made up of millennials (38 percent),
which KOA classifies as those born
between 1981 and 1997. That com-
pares to the 34 percent of campers
counted as millennials by KOA in
2015 and the 31 percent of the U.S.
population counted as millennials
by the U.S. Census. Millennials and
Generations Xers together account-
ed for 72 percent of U.S. campers,
up from 62 percent in 2015.
As might be expected, the younger
customer base presents some unique
tendencies and characteristics. Chief
among them is ethnic diversity.
NEW CAMPERS
Source: KOA
CAMPING NIGHTS PLANNED BY AGE FOR 2017
Source: KOA
Recreation While Camping by Ethnicity
15%
28%
57%
49%
38%
13%
Millennials
Gen X
Baby Boomers
Mature
I plan to spend
fewer nights
camping
I plan to spend
the same number
of nights camping
I plan to spend
more nights
camping
I am new to camping and camped for the first time
I have camped off and on throughout the years
I only started camping the past few years
I am a lifelong camper
49%
21%
51%
28%
33%
18%
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
30%
33%
55%
8%
4%
21%
56%
15%
8%
25%
52%
15%
8%
23%
53%
13%
11%
21%
15%50%
24%
11%
13%
46%
30%
11%
48%
22%
9%
59%
7%
4%
White/Caucasion
Hispanic/Latino
African America/Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
White/Caucasian
Hispanic/Latino
African American/Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
Hiking
47%
38%
Spring
2017
|
Inside
Outdoor
17