Industry Growth Revealed In ARVC’S 2020 Industry Trends And Insights Report

The 2020 Industry Trends and Insights Report, released Tuesday by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, includes data that shows that the COVID-19 pandemic affected parks (some more than others) in a variety of ways in 2020, including impacting shoulder seasons and causing a wide swing in occupancy rates and profits. 

Still, despite the challenges 2020 provided, the numbers show the industry was resilient and is poised for continued expansion and growth into 2021. 

“Despite a year in which our industry dealt directly with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic—a roller coaster economy, travel changes, delayed openings, restrictions to amenities—the privately-owned RV park and campground industry remains strong and the future bright,” says ARVC President and CEO Paul Bambei. 

ARVC’s survey sampled 516 outdoor hospitality owners and operators from across the country on expansion trends and plans, along with campground profiles, COVID-19 pandemic effects, guest demographics, amenities, sites and accommodations and rates. The findings of the survey, which are broken down by region, provide relevant insight into the state of the industry, which can be used as a valuable resource for all campground owners and operators when making business decisions.  

The overall effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were wide-ranging, with 40 percent of respondents reporting increased main season occupancy in 2020 compared to the previous year, down from 49 percent who reported occupancy growth in 2019. 29 percent of this year’s respondents indicated their park suffered lower occupancy levels in 2020, a large jump from just 8 percent reporting decreased occupancy in the 2019. 

Among those whose main season occupancy increased in 2020, 70 percent attribute the change to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those whose occupancy decreased, 99 percent also attributed the decrease to the effects of the pandemic.  

“Our industry showed tremendous resiliency dealing with this pandemic, but it wasn’t the same across the board. Still, even for parks that suffered in 2020, there is plenty of hope for a huge bounce back year in 2021, proven by 38 percent of parks that anticipate increased profits in 2020 despite the challenges encountered this year,” says Bambei. 

Check out the full article from National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds here.