A new RVIA survey found 15.3 million Americans plan to travel in RVs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s this year.
RVIA said the high number of holiday travelers is another indicator of the RV industry’s impact on the outdoor recreation industry. Twelve percent of all leisure travelers intend to take their RVs to spend the holidays away from home and benefit the local economies they visit.
According to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) report released last week, outdoor recreation contributed a record $862 billion to the U.S. economy last year and employed 4.5 million Americans.
“These two studies demonstrate that the RV industry and its customers are vital contributors to America’s economy and all indications are that they will continue to be so,” said James Ashurst, RVIA’s executive vice president. “Growth in the industry is being increasingly driven by younger and more diverse RV buyers whose purchases are largely motivated by the desire to experience the great outdoors.”
The survey said 29% of millennials and 20% of GenZ leisure travelers plan to stay in an RV over the holidays, either driving to warm-weather campgrounds and mountain ski resorts or parked outside families’ homes.
“Spending time with friends and family is an integral part of the holidays, and we know that whether RVing together for a holiday vacation or traveling in your RV for a holiday visit, spending time with friends and family is a primary reason people are going RVing this holiday season,” Ashurst said.
Finances are the main reason driving people to use RVs for holiday travel, RVIA said. RV vacations cost 50% less than comparable vacations and 33% less than hotel and car trips.
