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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2021 30 ticipants from non-white households accounted for just more than six of every 10 first-time campers, repre- senting more than six million of the 10 million households KOA estimated were introduced to camping in 2020 or returned to it after several years of absence. That 61 percent is up from the 50 percent of new campers that were people of color in each of the last three years and the 39 percent in 2016. Black and African American households accounted for a quarter of first timers in 2020, double the 12 per- cent Blacks accounted for in 2016. By comparison, OIA’s count of new participants in 2020 across all sorts of “outdoor activities” was only “slightly more diverse” than existing participants, with a total of 34 percent listed as either Black or African American (14%), His- panic or Latinx (14%), Asian or Asian American (9%), Native American and Pacific Islander (1%) and other (1%). With this influx during the past few years of a more ethnically rich profile of first-time campers, KOA’s demographic breakdown of camper ethnicity is now in direct line with the latest population figures from the U.S. Census. That’s not something seen very often in par- ticipation reports put out by the major outdoor sports categories. Looking at some of the most recent counts, OIA estimates that 71 percent of its broad definition of outdoor par- ticipants were white or Caucasian. Canoeing and kayaking participation in 2019 was around 80 percent white; climbing was 85 percent, according to a 2019 American Alpine Club report. Snowsport participation, meanwhile, is closer to U.S. Census percentages, according to SIA figures. A third of snowsports participants in 2019/2020 listed themselves as Hispanic (14%), Black (9%), Asian, (8%) or other (1%). Across most fishing categories in 2019, Hispanics, Blacks and Asians ac- counted for just 17 percent. As recently as 2014, more than three-quarters of campers came from white or Cauca- sian households. In 2020, however, that number dropped to 63 percent. What’s more, as much as 81 per- cent of Hispanic campers surveyed by KOA tried a new type of camping ex- perience in 2020, whether that be their first time camping in any form or their first time camping in an RV. More than three-quarter of Black households said the same n 2020, as well as 85 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders. Along with being more ethnically diverse, first-time campers are wealthier as a group than the crop of newbies in previous years. Last year, four in 10 first-time campers came from households with incomes of $100,000 or more. A full 58 percent were from households with an income of $75,000 or more. The higher income of first- time campers pushed the percentage of campers with a household income of $100,000 or more to 29 percent in 2020, and 42 percent living in a house- hold with an income of $75,000 or more. That’s a jump from 2019 numbers of 19 percent for the former and 32 per- cent for the latter. Just less than a quarter of first- time campers (24 percent) came from households with incomes of $49,999 or less, which is significantly lower than the 50 percent of total U.S. house- holds that fall into that income bracket. It’s also down from the 28 percent of campers who fell into that category as recently as 2019. The higher level of income seems to have translated into healthy levels of gear purchasing, said KOA. Results show that six of 10 first-time campers purchased some type of camping gear for their first camping trip. Two-thirds stayed at for-pay campgrounds with at least some amenities and services. Not surprisingly, first-time campers increasingly lean younger, as Millennials Nike Direct-to-Consumer SalesWorldwi , 2010-2020 % of total revenues Sour e: Nike, company reports; eMarketer Ethnicity Among First-Time Camper Households Source: KOA 13.5% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 14.3% 14.1% 15.7% 20.5% 17.3% 22.9% 25.0% 28.7% 30.0% 33.1% GenZ Millenia Nights Spent Camping By Age Household Income 3 or fewer 4 to 7 8 to 14 15 to 30 More than 30 17% 18 14% 10% <$25,000 $25,000 t $49,999 25% 36% 26% 10% 3% 3% 1% 1% 3% 16% 5% 12% 64% 13% 14% 12% 61% 17% 17% 14% 51% 22% 14% 14% 49% 50% 16% 17% 14% 39% 24% 15% 14% 8% 74% 68% 63% 11% 12% 12% 13% 5% 7% 4% 5% 6% 3% 8% 9% U.S. Census First-time Campers in 2016 First-time Campers in 2017 First-time Campers in 2018 First-time Campers in 2019 First-time Campers in 2020 All Campers in 2016 All Campers in 2019 All Campers in 2020 Caucasian Black Hispanic/Latino Asian/Pacific Islander All other In-Season