Kampgrounds of America (KOA) released its November monthly research report focused on the winter camping season.
In total, KOA is projecting 7.7 million households in North America to camp over the winter months.
KOA has been tracking camping incidence and behavior since spring 2021, and found there were 10.1 million first-time camper households in 2020. In May the group estimated there would be an additional 4.3 million new camper households in 2021. The number has been revised to 7.72 million new camper households in 2021, with an additional 1.45 million projected to camp for the first time in the remainder of 2021.
Of the 4.3 million new households, 60% plan to camp this winter, making up the greatest likelihood among campers. Snowbird campers are projected to include about 2.9 million households throughout the winter, KOA reported. The holiday season is also looking like a strong camping season, with KOA estimating 22 million households will take some type of camping trip in the period surrounding Thanksgiving and New Years.
KOA looked at reasons campers canceled upcoming winter trips. Most respondents (41%) cited weather conditions as their reason for cancelling, followed by Covid concerns at 39% and financial reasons at 21%.
KOA’s November report reviewed camping household numbers by month from March through November, finding the biggest month for camping was July. The company reported 15.9 million campers in July, followed closely by August with 15.4 million and September with 14.96 million camping households.
