After 15 months of being largely confined to their local stomping grounds, Americans are raring to get out and enjoy 2021's summer months. As was the case even at the height of the pandemic, lots of U.S. travelers are relying on outdoorsy domestic destinations to help cure their cabin fever, and are finding themselves eager to explore tourism offerings within the nation's borders.
It's a trend that's already resulted in record numbers of visitors descending upon national parks this summer, leading to long lines at the most popular parks' entry gates and park officials sometimes finding themselves so overwhelmed that they close admissions. Nevertheless, a large portion of Americans have their hearts set on outdoor camping as their summer getaway of choice, and this is never more so the case than during the summer holidays.
Kampground of America (KOA) compiles its research on North Americans' camping behaviors on a monthly basis, and the latest data from the June edition of its Monthly Research Report suggests that nearly 20 million households are planning on going camping during the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.
Its study also revealed the trending top 10 states for camping over the July 4th weekend this year. In order, beginning with number one, they are: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio.
Among those who will be camping on Independence Day, 33 percent will go only for the long weekend; 31 percent plan to take an additional day or two off around the weekend; 24 percent plan to camp for the entire week leading up to or following the holiday, and 13 percent will go for the weekend only.
COVID-19 continues to steer travelers' tendencies, with 21 percent of respondents saying they still have health and safety concerns and plan to wait longer before taking a trip. By contrast, 48 percent of all U.S. and Canadian campers plan to get out this summer, though 26 percent said that they never camp over the Fourth of July weekend. Twenty-two percent said that they'd like to camp this summer, but financial constraints will prevent them.
Even amid continued concerns, 62 percent of those surveyed said that they believe camping remains the safest form of travel during the pandemic. COVID-19 also prompted plenty of people to try camping for the first time in 2020 and 2021. In fact, KOA found that 26 percent of camping households had never gone camping before the pandemic, and another 10 percent are planning to camp for the first time in 2021. That means an estimated 4.8 million new campers will join the ranks in 2021.
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