One indisputable consensus piece of wisdom that emerged from the more than 20 “Staying Connected” online discussions hosted in the past six months by Connect Travel (publisher of the INBOUND Report) is that both domestic and international travelers to and within the United States would be searching for new, different, less crowded and “off-the-beaten-path” travel experiences in.

This shift in traveler intentions was no secret to the team at Kampgrounds of America (KOA), a well-known brand in the recreational/outdoors travel sector. KOA says that leisure travelers predicted in May that their first trip once COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted would be a camping trip, and the results of the fall special edition of its annual North American Camping Report suggest that those predictions exceeded travelers’ intended level of participation.

The report—”The Growth of Camping Amid COVID-19: Fall 2020 Update”—shows that 21 percent of leisure travelers took a camping trip this summer once restrictions were lifted. One-fourth of North American campers indicate that their first camping experience occurred since the start of the pandemic, and 42 percent say that they will still take planned camping trips during the remainder of this year.

Last month, the Report surveyed general leisure travelers to understand if behavior and sentiment toward camping had changed from initial reporting conducted in May 2020. Not only has camping activity increased, but camping is still considered the safest type of travel, according to more than half of leisure travelers (56 percent), which is a 10-percentage point increase from May results.

When North Americans make the personal decision to resume their travels, 29% of leisure travelers –almost half (45 percent) of campers and even 15 percent of non-campers (leisure travelers who indicate they do not camp) – plan to replace a cancelled or postponed trip with camping. Prior to the pandemic, camping accounted for 11 percent of all leisure travel trips, while post-COVID-19, camping could account for 15 percent of planned trips through the remainder of 2020. 

Additional key findings of the “Growth of Camping Amid COVID-19: A Fall 2020 Update” include the following.

Camping Activity This Summer:

—Nearly half of all campers indicated either starting camping for the first time or restarting after having not camped in recent years. 

—Millennial travelers represent the highest interest in camping since the start of the pandemic; 19% of —Millennial travelers went camping for the first time since the start of the pandemic representing the highest proportion of new campers.

—One-in-five Canadian campers say that they have taken their first camping trip ever since the start of the pandemic, and another 1-in-5 say that they have started camping again after not having camped in recent years.

—Since the pandemic began, 46 percent of leisure travelers have indicated spending more time outdoors – 57 percent of campers and 36 percent of non-campers. 

—Prior to the pandemic, camping accounted for 11 percent of all leisure travelers’ trips; post-COVID-19, camping could account for 15 percent of these travelers’ planned trips through the remainder of 2020.

New, First-Time Campers:

—New and re-engaged campers represent a much younger demographic, primarily Millennials who comprise 40% of all campers and 55 percent of new campers who have indicated taking their first camping trip since the start of the pandemic.

—Camping continues to be a family activity with 82 percent of first-time campers – and 70% of campers who have restarted camping this year – indicating they have children in the household.

—Most new campers (53 percent) have indicated they are currently working from home.

—Those new campers this year are significantly more likely than non-campers to have taken more vacation days since the start of the pandemic; 53 percent of these new campers have taken more vacation days in comparison to previous years.

Camping Amid COVID-19 Concerns:

—Across the board – campers and non-campers alike – rank camping as the safest type of travel. When asked to compare camping to other forms of travel, 56 percent of leisure travelers, 63 percent of campers, and 49 percent of prospective campers feel camping is a safer travel alternative.  

—This summer, approximately 80 percent of campers have either planned trips close to home or took trips that were closer to home.

—Private bathrooms while camping are important to 48 percent of all leisure travelers, including 42 percent of campers and 58 percent of prospective campers. 

—More than half of general leisure travelers (60 percent) are willing to travel to less popular locations in order to avoid overcrowded areas. This sentiment is echoed by 68 percent of campers.

—Regarding the importance of getting kids outdoors, 49% leisure travelers, and 63% of campers, think it’s more important than ever for kids to get outdoors. Even those who do not self-identify as campers have increased this belief since the May survey (36% of non-campers, +12 percentage).

Camping Forecast for 2021:

—It is estimated that 18 percent of the new campers in 2020 will continue camping in the future.

—Of these new campers, 44 percent of both RV and tent new campers and 40 percent of new glampers indicated they are likely to continue camping into 2021.

—Once state or local government restrictions are lifted, the primary barrier for both campers and prospective campers to camping (or camping more often) is most closely tied to the restrictions due to COVID.

—For campers, work status (28 percent) and financial implications (26 percent) are also important considerations; close to half of mature campers (45 percent) cite health issues.

—Among new campers who are likely to continue camping, the most commonly listed reason for continuing is that it’s relaxing.

Survey Methodology: The North American camping survey was conducted by Cairn Consulting Group, an independent market research firm with extensive experience in the hospitality and services industries. The survey was conducted from September 4-9, 2020. The sampling methodology targeted a randomly selected sample of U.S. and Canadian households who participate in leisure travel. Sampling was designed to obtain n=3,508 completed surveys among representative U.S. households and n=500 representative Canadian households. A sample of n=3,508 U.S. households is associated with a margin of error of +/- 1.65 percentage points. Among Canadian households, a sample of n=500 is associated with a margin of error of +/- 4.37 percentage points. All surveys were completed online via an outbound solicitation sent to a randomly selected cross-section of U.S. and Canadian households.

Expedia Research Updates Afford Hope to Connect Travel Webinar Gathering: The latest of Connect Travel’s “Staying Connected” series continued last Thursday with updated insights from Expedia Group™ Media Solutions via its director of business development, Derek Price—a familiar and oft-quoted presence in both the international and domestic travel & tourism markets.

“Domestic is really ruling, sort of, the decision-making of our customers,” said Price, as he introduced his presentation, which was based largely on Expedia research conducted over a four-month period that coincided with the unofficial beginning last April of the worldwide corona virus-drive global pandemic.

Expedia’s online legions of customers and visitors were still traveling, he explained, and if they weren’t actually traveling, they were visiting online to check the status of things, dream about travels they would like to take, or actually shopping. The following tables and graphics illustrate some of the key points made by Price.

“Many of you who may be on the destination side are seeing that drive market is even more important now than it ever has been before in fact we are seeing people willing to drive longer than they ever have before.” (Derek Price)

“Nine in 10 travelers would use an OTA to book travel in the current climate.” – Expedia Group Media Solutions

The Millennial is Rising*

→ Millennials are more likely to use a travel agent (compared to Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers)

→ More than 70 percent of Millennials plan on using a travel agency in the future.

Source: MMGY Global 2016

* Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years, with 1981 to 1996 a widely accepted defining range for the generation. (Wikipedia)

Key Takeaways:

—Health and safety information is critical.

—Travelers are staying with family, or at vacation rentals

—Domestic car trips are trending.

—Travelers are using a range of sources to book travel.

Selected Quotes:

• “From the very beginning they (travelers) never lost the love of traveling and we found

that a good portion of our customers were still coming to our site on a regular basis

to dream about where they were going to go next … that’s really a positive story to tell.”

• “Many of you who may be on the destination side are seeing that the drive market is even more important now than it ever has been before; in fact, we are seeing people willing to drive

longer than they ever have before.”

• “I’ve got to be honest with you I don’t think I love anybody enough to be in a car with them

for 1,500 miles but they’re willing to do it, and I think that’s super exciting so, if you if there are any car rental companies, also rural hotels—what a great opportunity to start talking about road trips because people are not driving that distance.”

• “One of the things that we are hearing is that in the non-urban locations, those hotels that are set farther out from city center are actually seeing stronger occupancies than those hotels

Downtown. And I think it’s because people are looking to give themselves space away from the crowds. “

• “For those of you who are wondering when I talk about deals and offers—especially from an Expedia Group point of view—it’s not always the least expensive price, and in fact, very often, lowest price is not the winner; it is the value of what people get … It is all about how safe they’re going to feel within the product that you’re offering. So, if you’re not doing it now, I would certainly recommend including some type of health and hygiene information within your messaging.”

• “About the advanced booking window—people are really looking for that short-term window someplace and going on vacation in the next zero to three weeks, so something to think about when you’re talking with your partners or talking internally with your stakeholders is that consumers are looking to book short-term and that is because there’s a comfortability level saying ‘Okay, if I can travel in the next two weeks, I kind of know what’s going to happen’.”

U.S. Image Declines Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly: Ratings for Trump remain poor Since Donald Trump took office as president, and the image of the United States has suffered across many regions of the globe. As a new 13-nation Pew Research Center survey illustrates, America’s reputation has declined further over the past year among many key allies and partners. In several countries, the share of the public with a favorable view of the U.S. is as low as it has been at any point since the Center began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago.

In some country markets, ratings for U.S. are at record low.

Percentage who have a favorable view of the U.S.

Note: 2000 trend is from 1999 or 2000 and provided by U.S. Department of State:

Source: Pew Research Center, Summer 2020 Global Attitudes Survey

According to the report, “just 41 percent in the UK express a favorable opinion of the U.S., the lowest percentage registered in any Pew Research Center survey there. In France, only 31 percent see the U.S. positively, matching the grim ratings from March 2003, at the height of U.S.-France tensions over the Iraq War. Germans give the U.S. particularly low marks on the survey: 26% rate the U.S. favorably, similar to the 25% in the same March 2003 poll.”

The report continues, “Part of the decline over the past year is linked to how the U.S. had handled the coronavirus pandemic. Across the 13 nations surveyed, a median of just 15% say the U.S. has done a good job of dealing with the outbreak. In contrast, most say the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Union have done a good job, and in nearly all nations people give their own country positive marks for dealing with the crisis (the U.S. and UK are notable exceptions). Relatively few think China has handled the pandemic well, although it still receives considerably better reviews than the U.S. response.”

All publics surveyed rank the U.S. coronavirus response lowest.

Percentage who say (    ) has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak

Note: In Australia and Canada, the question was asked about “COVID-19.” In Japan, it was asked about “the novel coronavirus,” and in South Korea, it was asked about “Corona 19.”

Source: Pew Research Center, Summer 2020 Global Attitudes Survey

Said the report: “Ratings for U.S. President Donald Trump have been low in these nations throughout his presidency, and that trend continues this year. Trump’s most negative assessment is in Belgium, where only 9 percent say they have confidence in the U.S. president to do the right thing in world affairs. His highest rating is in Japan; still, just one-quarter of Japanese express confidence in Trump.”

Poor ratings for the U.S. and Trump

Percentage who have (     ) …

Source: Summer 2020 Global Attitudes Survey.

A note on methodology: The Pew Report focuses on public opinion of the United States in 13 countries in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Views of the U.S. and its president are examined in the context of long-term trend data. The report also examines how people in other countries perceive America’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and how those perceptions compare to ratings for their own country, the World Health Organization, the European Union and China. For this report, we use data from nationally representative surveys of 13,273 adults from June 10 to Aug. 3, 2020, in 13 advanced economies. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Click here for a complete copy of the Pew Report.