May 15

May 15 Friday Findings: Resurgence of R.V. Travel

Planning for the future requires information, and our goal is to monitor industry research/data to assist our partners in understanding short and long term COVID-19 ideas and opportunities.
Photos: @astonyao, @steve3p_o

Back on the Road Again: Resurgence of R.V. Travel

Earlier this week, we touched on how we can measure visitor sentiment to understand when and how people will begin traveling again. As noted by research released this week from Kampgrounds of America (KOA), many folks are planning their first, post-COVID vacation somewhere conducive to social distancing, and that maximizes being in the outdoors. RVing and camping are about to have a moment!

RVs are inherently designed to be one of the most self-contained options for traveling and overnight accommodation. They give public and private land managers and owners an opportunity to be one of the first options for travelers who have been cooped up under stay-at-home orders for months.

According to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), sales of RVs were in decline before the beginning of 2020, with shipments of RVs dropping from 504,000 in 2017 to only 364,000 in 2019. The first few months of 2020 also reflected a slow down in RV sales. However, web traffic for more recent weeks indicates strong growth in RV interest. RV Rentals are experiencing a major surge. RVShare, a leader in the peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace, announced on May 13 that the company recently achieved the highest recorded booking numbers in its history, with a 650% rise in RV rental bookings since early April. Most significantly, Camping World Holdings, operators of Camping World, one of the largest, publicly traded RV dealers in the U.S., recorded an increase in stock value of 35 percent after reporting strong operating results for the first quarter of 2020.

Are your campgrounds ready for this influx of demand? Next week we will explore different issues and projects to consider to better prepare for an increase in demand and the changing visitor expectations influenced by COVID.

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