Glamping Survey: Travel Niche Likely to Continue Growing

Glamping is a small section of the travel industry that has gained popularity in recent years. Short for “glamorous camping,” glamping gives travelers a way to be surrounded by nature without giving up on luxurious amenities. And the glamping industry may be underserved despite its growing popularity, according to Glamping.com. So how many travelers have already experienced glamping, and how many are likely to do so in the future? We asked 1,000 respondents on October 6-10 about their travel habits and their thoughts on Glamping.

Camping

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 4% of respondents said that they’ve been camping within the past month. 5% have gone camping in the last three months. 9% have done so in the past year. 8% have within the past two years. 5% have gone within the past five years. 30% said that it’s been more than five years since they last went camping. And 40% said they aren’t campers at all.Overall, 69% of campers said that they enjoy camping because it allows them to spend time outdoors. And 45% like it because it lets them experience new locations. However, just 28% like things like setting up the campsite and making their own food. And just 21% said they like camping because it is cost effective. On the other side, 48% of those who have been camping said that they dislike not having access to certain amenities. And 34% don’t like the uncomfortable lodging options.

Glamping

More specifically, just 4% of overall respondents said that they’ve gone glamping many times. 5% said they’ve gone once. 34% have never gone glamping, but have at least heard of it. And 57% said they don’t know what glamping is. Of those who have gone glamping, most did not remember the name of the company or resort. But Disney and Koa were mentioned as popular brands.

Future Glampers

Overall, 37% of respondents said that they are at least somewhat interested in glamping at some point in the future. And 22% said they are likely to go in the next two years. Of those who have gone camping at some point, 46% said they are interested in glamping, and 29% said they are likely to go in the next two years.In general, 71% of respondents said that they enjoy traveling. 69% said they like being out in nature. And 62% said they like having access to luxurious amenities when they travel. Of those who enjoy being out in nature, 69% also said they like having luxurious amenities when they travel.

Key Takeaways

Glamping hasn’t taken off quite yet. But although there are more people who are interested in trying out glamping, it’s not as big a number as the amount of people who should theoretically be interested based on opinions about the outdoors and luxurious travel amenities. This suggests that the actual term “glamping” might not appeal to everyone. So some companies could benefit from simply explaining their offerings rather than using “glamping” as a description in and of itself. In fact, more than half of consumers don’t know what the term means, so that’s another reason to be descriptive in marketing materials. However, there does seem to be an opening for more brands to break into this space, since not many of those who have tried glamping even remembered which companies they’ve used.You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Glamping! by Noam, Jemima & Lila under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on October 6-10 via AYTM’s online survey panel.