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During the past few years, KOA has
seen increasing proportions of His-
panics, African Americans and people
of Asian descent being introduced to
camping and its related “outdoor” ex-
periences. Attribute it to industry out-
reach or the simple matter of changing
national demographics, or maybe both,
but non-white campers now comprise
just more than a quarter of all camp-
ers, a rate that’s double KOA’s count
in 2012. In many cases, population
breakdowns by ethnicity are approach-
ing, and even surpassing, Census
percentages, particularly among those
who are new to camping. In particular,
the percentage of new campers that
are of Asian/Pacific Island descent
nearly triples the corresponding Cen-
sus percentage of the U.S population,
according to KOA counts.
Indeed, non-white campers, and es-
pecially campers of Asian descent, are
most likely to be new to camping, with
fully 40 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander
campers reporting that they have started
camping within the past few years. More
than one in five Hispanic campers and
close to a third of African American/Black
campers said the same. That compares
to 12 percent of white campers who have
started camping within the past couple of
years. Not surprisingly this is driven by
Gen Y campers, as six-in-10 non-white
campers are millennials, compared to
nearly four in 10 white campers.
Same but Different
In general, the drivers and behaviors
among the various cohorts of campers
increasingly are in line with each other.
In other words, the reasons why folks
NEW CAMPERS
Source: KOA
Source: KOA
Source: KOA
Recreation While Camping by Ethnicity
57%
49%
38%
Millennials
Gen X
Baby Boomers
Mature
fewer nights
camping
I plan to spend
the same number
of nights camping
I plan to s end
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
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
Fishing
Taking scenic
drives/
sight-seeing
Visit historical
sites
Biking
Bird watching
Kayaking
Canoeing
Mountain
biking
Backpacking
Running/
trail running
Hunting
Horseback
riding
47%
38%
38%
45%
44%
44%
46%
38%
30%
22%
17%
23%
26%
17%
10%
25%
29%
29%
30%
30%
24%
20%
21%
22%
20%
16%
19%
32%
19%
20%
23%
18%
15%
27%
18%
18%
14%
10%
13%
14%
10%
10%
13%
10%
10%
16%
9%
14%
10%
10%
7%
8%
Enjoy
camping
with family
and friends
99%
T
V
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Inside
Outdoor
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Spring
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