PHOTO: Camping in Algonquin Provincial Park. (Photo courtesy of Thinkstock)

Although its hardly news anymore, it bears repeating. Despite the reduced value of the loonie, all signals indicate Canadians are still planning to travel this summer. Some continue to eye international destinations but many others are looking to explore their own backyard during the coming months.

More evidence pointing in this direction has now arrived from Kampgrounds of America (KOA) in the 2016 North American Camping Report, an annual independent study.

In total, says the report, Canadian campers plan to increase their camping trips by 18 percent this year. Moreover, four-in-ten Canadian campers also intend to spend more nights camping this year, while another two-thirds say they intend to upgrade their accommodations.

“The outlook for the 2016 season is strong with both Canadian and U.S. campers indicating a desire to increase their camping trips this year,” said KOA Chief Operations Officer Toby O’Rourke. “The research tells us that in Canada specifically, people camp for a variety of reasons from emotional to financial benefits and, importantly, this year more campers say they’d like to upgrade to an RV. As we look further out, this enthusiasm for spending time outdoors bodes well for the long-term viability of camping.”

What’s not new, however, is the statistic that the incidence of camping in Canada is higher than that in the U.S. It seems Canadians consistently outpace Americans in this arena. Some 65 per cent of Canadian households camp compared to 59 per cent in the U.S.

2016 Canadian Camping Forecast

Other key findings include:

• Seven-in-ten Canadian campers equate camping with a way to escape the stress of everyday life, 69 per cent say it is an affordable vacation option, and 65 per cent says camping leads to a healthier lifestyle. Spending time with family and friends (64 per cent) and exploring new areas (61 per cent) are also among the top reasons for camping.

• Canadian campers are overwhelmingly likely to visit a provincial park (73 per cent) in 2016. Additionally, nearly one-in-seven campers expressed an interest in visiting a U.S. national park during the Centennial Celebration of the U.S. National Park Service this year.

• Of the Canadians’ plans to upgrade their accommodations this year, 21 per cent would like to buy a motorhome and 16 per cent are in favour of upgrading to a travel trailer. Overall, 27 per cent of Canadian campers said they’d like try a motorhome this year, a number that has increased dramatically over last year’s 17 per cent response.

North American Camping Report Results

According to the survey, more than a million households across North America took their first camping trip last year. Interestingly, campers are a demographic that are more diverse than ever before, with nearly 40 per cent of new campers being black, Hispanic or Asian.

• One in five new campers are black, a demographic which in this case is also largely comprised of millennial campers.

• Hispanics account for nearly 8 per cent all campers in North American; five per cent of all campers are of Asian descent. 

• When it comes to first-time campers in the millennial demographic, some 54 per cent are non-white. Millennial campers throughout North America are far more likely to say they will camp more in 2016 (58 per cent of millennials, verses 46 per cent of GenXers, 35 per cent of Baby Boomers and 30 per cent of mature campers).

An increase in campers throughout Canada could be good news for the economy. According to the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) of Canada, Canada’s RV industry contributes $14.5 billion towards the Canadian economy every year.

The 2016 North American Camping Report, conducted by independent market research firm Cairn Consulting Group, randomly surveyed nearly 3,000 U.S. and Canadian households. The survey was conducted on behalf of Kampgrounds of America (KOA), the world’s largest system of public family campgrounds. First established in 1962, KOA now operates more than 35 locations in Canada and 450 in the United States.

For more information, visit www.koa.com.

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