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2017. By comparison, about 47
percent of white, Hispanic and
African American/Black campers
intend to visit a national park.
Recreation remains an impor-
tant part of campers’ experiences,
and the longstanding activities of
hiking and fishing tend to be most
prevalent among all campers. Even
so, Whites/Caucasians and Asians
are mostly likely to include a hike
during a camping trip, while African
Americans are most likely to go
fishing. On the other hand, African
Americans are least likely to take a
scenic drive or visit a historical site
during a camping trip.
Mountain biking, meanwhile, is
significantly more prevalent among
those responding as Hispanics, who
also are the most likely to take part
in hunting. In terms of paddlesports,
a full 32 percent of campers of Asian
descent say kayaking is part of their
camping outings (compared to about
one in five of the other groups sur-
veyed), while African Americans are
the most likely to say canoeing is part
of a camping trip.
Overall, “an influx of younger, more
physically active campers is changing
the recreation landscape as it relates
to camping,” notes the KOA research.
More-active pursuits such as hiking,
mountain biking, paddling and back-
packing are increasing in occurrence
as part of a camping trip, while less-
active pursuits such as sightseeing,
scenic drives, birdwatching and fish-
ing have seen declining participation.
Fishing remains a popular activity,
but in 2016 hiking for the first time
outranked fishing as the most popular
form of recreation, show KOA fig-
ures. (Incidentally, even though fish-
ing has waned as an activity among
adult campers, it is extremely popular
among Gen Z campers, with eight of
10 teens stating that they go fishing
while camping.)
Family Matters
At the same time, as large num-
bers of millennials increasingly move
into adulthood and start families
– while mature campers participate
less – camping becomes more and
more of a family time event. In 2016,
for starters, more than 50 percent
CAMPING TEENS
Source: KOA
Share of Retail Ecommerce Sales
Growth, Amazon vs.
t of the Market, 2016
% of total retail ecommerce sales growth
Enjoy
camping
with family
and friends
Intend to
take own
children
camping
Intend to
camp as an
adult
Camping
is “very
enjoyable”
Enjoy
planning
camping
activities
Would still
camp without
technology
Peers are
happy
camping
Want to
camp more
often
Camping
allows
them
to “unplug”
Would
choose an
amusement
park over
camping
99%
93% 90% 89%
79%
71% 69%
62%
52%
13%
Hiking
Fishing
Taking scenic
drives/
sight seeing
Biking
Visit historical
sites
Mountain
biking
Bird watching
Running/
trail running
Hunting
Backpacking
Kayaking
Canoeing
25%
27%
25%
16%
16%
18%
20%
16%
5%
7%
13%
20%
10%
7%
4%
1%
4%
7%
12%
18%
7%
6%
1%
0%
3%
4%
4%
3%
5%
4%
2%
1%
4%
4%
2%
4% 0%
2%
2%
2%
0%
2%
2%
3%
0%
1%
3%
3%
TYP ATE IN MOST
OFT
Source: KOA
Millennials
Gen X
Baby Boomers
Mature
GG1000-1A3
Specialized gear for relentlessly challenging extreme limits
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