News

New data revealed by the USA’s Outdoor Foundation has shown that participation in outdoor activities is continuing to grow in the country and is at its highest level in the last 15 years. The Outdoor Participation report’s headline figure is that more than half (54 per cent) of Americans aged six and over participated in at least one outdoor activity in 2021, while the outdoor recreation participant base grew 2.2 per cent to 164.2 million participants.

The full report has some interesting findings for the camping industry to consider – chiefly that camping amassed some 45.9 million participants in 2021 (a figure that is actually down two million on 2020’s figure). Despite that, camping remains in the top five outdoor activities for Americans alongside hiking, running, fishing, and cycling.

Camping was revealed as the leading gateway for Americans into outdoor participation as it was revealed that 98.3 per cent of camping trips have cross participation with other outdoor activities.

The future of the camping industry also looks bright according to the report with 16.2 per cent of Americans aged six to 17 having participated in camping in 2021, and the average number of camping outings per participant in that age bracket per year standing at 9.2. Camping’s participation levels have also shown growth of 6.8 per cent on average over the last five years.

Read the full report online here, all data © the Outdoor Foundation.