Kampgrounds of America Inc.

A•er five years of surveying North American campers, the 2019 North American Camping Report shows the camping landscape is strong – new and life-long campers are committed to the outdoor camping lifestyle, as demonstrated by their diversity, camping more frequently and enthusiasm for using camping as a conduit to active outdoor lifestyles. Since last year, about one million new camper households were added to those who consider themselves annual campers, with an estimated 7 million new camper households in the U.S. since 2014. Since 2014, the percentage of campers who camp three or more times annually has increased by 72 percent. Camping experienced aggressive growth from 2014 through 2017 in terms of the sheer number of new camper households, and has been impacted most by the influx of younger and more diverse campers. As this new group of campers has continued camping, they've brought with them a greater deal of enthusiasm, annually taking more trips and spending more nights camping. Although we're starting to see a leveling off of intent to camp this year, it should be noted that there is not a decrease and even among those who say that they do not intend to change their camping in 2019, their frequency of camping is higher than what was observed in previous years. Of all campers, Hispanic campers are the group most likely to increase their camping this year. Half of all campers identified their "love of the outdoors" for sparking their interest in camping, which is consistent to results of the first report and has remained the leading reason over its five years of research. Campers are sharing this love with others. In 2018, 48 percent of new campers reported that other people got them interested in camping, while younger campers, not surprisingly, were introduced to camping by their families. Camping momentum can also be seen in the growth of campers self-identifying as "life- long" campers. One-third of all campers now self-identify as life-long campers, which is also the highest among all years of the report. Although young, both millennials (ages 22-37) and Gen Xers (ages 38-53) are more likely to identify themselves as lifelong campers when compared to past years. Campers' trial of new accommodations or camping experiences can be attributed to their life stage and life events. Fi£y percent of millennials say life events (such as having children and increased income) enables them to camp more o£en. Among younger campers the significant life shi£ of becoming a parent can be attributed to shi£s in camping behavior, including increased frequency of camping and camping accommodation preferences. Camping families (campers with children under the age of 18 in the household) are the most devoted group of campers and, with children in the household, see increased desire to own their camping gear, whether a tent or RV. Camping families are most likely to say that their camping trips increased in 2018, and two-thirds say that their camping will increase in 2019. Campers are continuing to make strong connections between camping and other outdoor recreation activities, considering them to be one in the same. While hiking/backpacking and fishing continue to be the most popular recreation activities among campers, more active recreation continues to grow in popularity. Fishing dropped by 2 percentage points since 2014, yet the participation in hiking or backpacking has increased by 14 percentage points since 2014. In fact, the rates of African American campers' interest in hiking/backpacking have almost doubled since last year. Canoeing and kayaking have grown by 11 points since 2014. The importance of on-site recreation to campers increased in 2018 with a full 40 percent of campers selecting campgrounds around it, yet can also be seen to fluctuate based on campers' stages in life. K E Y F I N D I N G S 2 T H E 2 0 1 9 N O R T H A M E R I C A N C A M P I N G R E P O R T

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