Americans hitting the gas on RV vacations
A lot of Americans will be traveling around in their brand-new RVs this spring and summer or renting them from popular outlets such as RVshare and Outdoorsy.
Interest in RVs has spiked 162% during the pandemic, according to data from LendingTree.
Interest in purchasing RVs far exceeded recreational categories. By comparison, interest in boats rose 104%, and interest in cars and lot trucks dropped 26%.
June 2020 saw a 303% year-over-year increase in the number of people completing purchase query forms for RVs compared to June 2019.
The popularity of RV travel is driven by the feeling of safety it provides U.S. travelers.
Harvest Hosts found that 76% of respondents to its recent travel survey said they plan to travel more in 2021 than they did in 2020, and nearly 60% said that they plan to travel more than they did in 2019 before the pandemic. More than 80% are not planning to travel internationally this year, however.
That leaves RVs as one of the most popular options for getting around this spring and summer. According to Harvest Hosts, 99% of total respondents said that they felt safe traveling in an RV, and 53% of total respondents said they planned to exclusively travel using RVs in 2021.
“After the rough year we had in 2020, people are itching to hit the road. For many, travel is a basic human necessity. What we’re seeing is that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to scratch this itch,” said Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts.
“The survey results may seem extreme, but it comes down to the fact that many still have reservations about air travel. The data shows that people will continue opting for the safety of road trips, leading to a boom in backyard exploration and growing interest in RVing.”
Remote working is another key that is driving Americans to travel more this year than they did in 2020 and in 2019. RV trips tend to be longer and cover a lot of miles, and vans and motorhomes offer flexibility for travelers.
Of people planning to travel by road, 61% plan to travel more than 500 miles, and 34% plan to travel moderately far, within 100-500 miles.
Harvest Hosts found that travelers are also spending tourism dollars when staying in destinations. Nearly half of Americans traveling in campers, vans and motorhomes spend on average two or three nights and spend money on food, wine, services and other items in tourism industries that have been hard hit by the pandemic.
Ninety-four percent of people typically spend less than $75 each night when traveling via RV, which is much less than a typical hotel stay but can make a big difference for an independent farm or winery, according to Harvest Hosts.