Executive Summary

This article is meant to serve as a source of inspiration for our readers and encourage them to think about how the camping industry and Do-It-Yourself travel concepts, in their entirety or in fragments, fit into the long term strategy of their portfolios and businesses. There is a $4.87 billion opportunity to organize parts of the camping industry and NGH is looking for passionate clients who are ready to seize the opportunity.

Here are a few key takeaways from the report:

• The segment is growing amongst young, leisure travelers

  • Camping was growing quickly pre-COVID and is now seeing record demand as travel restrictions are relaxed

  • Millennials represent the largest group of campers and 90% of teen campers say they will camp as adults

• The segment is organizing and startups are launching

  • The camping industry is forecasted to grow significantly in the upcoming years and formulate into structured, branded categories, creating franchising and operating opportunities for those transitioning from traditional hotel management

  • We are likely to see a clearer association of limited service and full service campgrounds, due to growing OTA tech companies like Reserve America, HipCamp and Outdoorsy, who are creating visibility and transparency within their respective segments

• The diversity of accommodation types and trip purposes are expanding

  • Glamping and van life segments show positive growth as they move from their infancy into adolescence, climbing towards a market opportunity of $1 billion

  • Expect a shift in share of group business moving from convention conferences and downtown meetings to corporate retreats, which will allow for a focus on well-being, team-building and tranquility in a natural setting built for social distancing.

In fact, over the upcoming years, we predict the travel industry will see more accommodation brands, products and services become more holistic in their offerings and revolve around a concept we call EcoHospitality. EcoHospitality is an on-site ecosystem of thoughtfully connected, customized offerings specific to a location, which integrate the guest’s lifestyle and travel needs into the stay, while immersing them into a destination. These products rely on much more than ‘heads in beds’. They require experiential hosting by the staff to connect travelers with other guests, the local area’s offerings and require the properties to offer on site activities and activations on a daily basis to drive ancillary revenue.

In 2019, leisure travel accounted for 80% of all US domestic travel and 1.9 billion trips (US Travel). There is a tremendous opportunity to capture the new leisure and youth travelers in the DIY segment, with low barriers to entry. Step one is to find a location near a natural attraction, then apply the EcoHospitality model to operationalize and market the property.

We are here to help companies determine their point of entry and ways to capitalize on this movement. Click on ‘Talk to Us’ above and let’s get in touch.

We hope you enjoy!