App opens door to private campsites

Camping on a patch of private land, away from the coronavirus crowds in typically crowded campsites, is the driving force behind a new booking app. Australian-based Youcamp, which has been promoting campsites on private land since it launched in 2013, has now signed on with San Francisco's Hipcamp to offer more than 400,000 sites across Canada, the U.S. and Australia. James Woodford, the managing director of the renamed Hipcamp Australia platform, wants to re-create the simpler camping experience that existed before busy trailer parks and campgrounds became the norm. He told The Sydney Morning Herald: “A platform like Hipcamp Australia is the 21st-century equivalent of knocking on a farmer's door and asking to roll out a swag ( bedroll) in the back paddock.” Woodford said bookings have soared as people emerge from lockdowns looking for less-risky travel options. “This kind of uncrowded family-based tourism offered on Hipcamp properties is one of the very few safe tourism opportunities that people can now enjoy,” he said. Most of the sites, ranging from yurts to tiny houses, are on private land but the U.S. platform also lists public properties.