Inside Outdoor Magazine

was also are seeing new customer behaviors developing and new customer profiles forming. In other words, old assump- tions about campers may be less relevant moving forward. Much of the youth movement can be attributed to natu- ral population cycles. The very large Millennial generation, along with the oldest members of Generation Z, are sup- planting the very large but aging Baby Boomer generation. As recently as 2015, 38 percent of campers were of the Baby Boomer and Mature generations. Just two years later, that representation fell to 24 percent of campers. Mil- lennials, meanwhile, make up 40 percent of campers, com- pared to 31 percent of the U.S. population, while more than one-third of RVers are now Millennials (though only about half of those own an RV). All told, Millennials or GenXers account for more than three-fourths of all campers in 2017, up from less than two-thirds just two years prior. Of course, nothing more can be said about the sup- posed uniqueness of Millennials, but among the statisti- cally significant points of distinction, younger campers, compared to their older counterparts, are more likely to camp in large groups; seek new and different types of camping experiences, such as backcountry or “glamping;” and try new forms of accommodations, such as cabins or vehicle-based camping. Six of every 10 Millennial campers, for instance, tried a new type of camping ac- commodation in 2017, said KOA. Younger campers also are more likely than older campers to choose a camp- ground for its “atmosphere” and less likely to worry about the geographic location of a campground. “These behavioral changes among Millennial camp- ers are magnified by the sheer size of the group,” said KOA researchers. SPRING 2018 | Inside Outdoor 27